Summer Lovin'
by Fruits Of Passion
Summary: In the summer Ai meets Rin at the beach while on vacation and they soon fall in love. As the summer comes to an end, they worry about going home and never seeing each other again. But when school starts again they discover they are closer than they think.
1. Chapter 1

…

"This is the final call for flight 00264 to Tokyo." A voice announced over the tannoy.

"I really should be going." Ai bit his lip.

"I know." Rin agreed, but instead of releasing his hold on Ai he just leaned in for another kiss.

The past month had been incredible, Ai and Rin had met by the poolside, discovering they were both from Japan, both had a lot in common and were both attracted to each other. They'd hit it off right away and fell for each other quickly, the month flew by in a blur of dates, kisses and love. It had been like a dream.

But like all dreams it had to eventually come to an end.

"I'm going now." Ai declared, committing the kiss to memory as it would be the last one they'd ever share.

Sure, they both lived in Japan but at opposite ends of the country so the chances of them meeting again was slim. They were different people and in different circumstances they probably wouldn't have meshed.

Ai was from a rich and somewhat snobby family, who expected the best from their son. Pushing him all his life until all he cared about were keeping up appearances and getting good grades. Rin was from a poorer background, his upbringing focusing more on surviving rather than excelling. He would strive through scholarships and good luck, unlike Ai whose future had been planned and paid for.

Slowly, Ai backed away from Rin towards the gate, not wanting to turn around because then he knew he'd lose Rin forever.

"Bye." He waved sadly as he reached check-in, handing over his ticket.

"Ai!" Rin called just before he slipped through the doors. "I love you!"

Ai smiled at the blushing boy, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Granted they had only known each other for three weeks and four days but neither one could fight what they felt.

"I love you too!" He shouted back before he was ushered down the corridor.

…

Ai's daydream was ripped away from him by the harsh reality of a school bell. It had been a week since that day in the airport and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Rin, he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing now.

He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, he looked down at his new time table with a sigh. Another year, another new school. His parents were firm believers that schools got stale quickly, every summer they would check the league tables and send Ai to the best, regardless of cost or distance.

This year's model was Samezuka, a sports college that boasted the best exam results in the whole country. Sport wasn't exactly Ai's scene but when had his parent's ever cared about his interests before?

"I don't recognise your face!" Ai jumped as a blonde bounded up to him after yelling across the corridor at him.

"No, I'm new this year." He explained.

"I'm Nagisa." The boy greeted, furiously shaking his hand.

"Ai." He replied, desperately trying to release his hand from the vice like grip.

"So Ai, what brings you here?" He asked, snatching the time table from Ai.

"My parents bought a new house in the area." He shrugged, it was easier than explaining his parents were like groupies for an outstanding school.

"Oh, very fancy! I will have to come see it one day. Right, you're in my homeroom. Follow me!" Nagisa declared

"Oh right." Ai nodded, running after Nagisa as he powered down the corridor.

…

Rin sighed as he walked up to the school gates, Samezuka Academy looking as unappealing as it did every year. He was late but start as you mean to go on they always say. He had already missed homeroom so he'd have to go to the office to get his time table. He really didn't want to have to deal with the office staff, always far too superior considering they worked in a school.

It really was his own fault he was late, he'd got a little distracted in the shower this morning when he'd recalled many happy memories with Ai.

It had just been over a week since he'd seen that smiling face, since he'd kissed those soft lips, since he'd held that warm body and he missed him more than anything. It was only supposed to be a quick holiday romance but he found himself getting too attached.

But as much as he longed for him he knew it was never meant to be, he imagined bringing him around his friends. All their judgemental eyes watching the little innocent follow him around. How would Ai react if he saw Rin drunk, or high or if he discovered his piercing on a very intimate area?

He imagined Ai would run screaming, wanting nothing more to do with him for a moment longer. Well, he would never have to worry. Ai would never see the real him.

Unless the caring and slightly sappy boy he'd been around Ai was the real him.

…

"Come on Ai! Everyone is excited to meet you." Nagisa cried, pulling Ai by the wrist towards the lunch tables.

"Really?" He asked sceptically, he was sure Nagisa's friends didn't even know who he was.

"Of course! I told them all about you." He smiled, forcing Ai to sit down at a table with two large and muscly boys.

"Hello." Ai mumbled nervously.

"Mako-chan, Sou-chan, this is Ai-chan." Nagisa introduced them all.

"Nice to meet you." Makoto greeted with a smile.

"Hi." Sousuke said, letting his gaze rake over Ai and assess him.

Ai squirmed slightly under the look, he knew he didn't belong with this group. They were all shining, beautiful specimens and Ai, well he was average at best. He didn't doubt they never had to try in any of their lessons, just smile at the teacher and dazzle their way to passing. Ai worked hard to get to the top, he very rarely had a lunch that wasn't spent inside the library. But he made an exception for his first day.

"I better get some food." Ai announced, jumping up and out of Sousuke's eye line – finally.

"Where did you pick him up from?" Sousuke asked once Ai had shuffled out of hearing range.

"Found him looking lost outside the office." Nagisa shrugged. "Isn't he just the cutest?"

"I guess so." Sousuke agreed. "Very pure."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Makoto scolded.

"I never said there was." He defended. "I just don't think he's our kind of people."

"You don't even know him yet." Nagisa pouted.

"At least make an effort." Makoto told him.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes as Ai stumbled back to them. The boy really was a mess.

"That looks tasty." Nagisa gushed, helping himself to a mouthful.

"So Ai, what did you do with your summer?" Sousuke asked, shooting Makoto a subtle 'are-you-satisfied' look.

"Oh, I spent it in Australia." He blushed as he remembered.

"I know that smile, you met someone!" Nagisa screamed.

"Yeah, I did." He smiled.

"Tell us about it!" Makoto enthused, ever the romantic. Sousuke subtly rolled his eyes, it was going to be a long lunch.

…

Rin kept his head down as he ducked out the school gate, fishing a cigarette and lighter out his pocket the moment he was free. He took the familiar route that lead him down an alley and towards a clearing.

In the clearing was an old park with his friends waiting for him, two were sat on the grass while the other was playing on the rockers.

"Momo, you'll get your ass stuck one day!" Rin shouted as he let himself inside.

"Rin, nice of you to put in an appearance." Haru commented, not bothering to pick himself up from lying on the grass.

"I didn't see you in homeroom." Rei said. "I assumed you weren't in."

"I would never leave you hanging like that." He smirked as he sat beside them.

"You left us hanging all summer." Momo complained, finally pulling himself away from the child's toy.

"I was on holiday, I can't help that." Rin laughed.

"How was the holiday?" Rei asked.

"Incredible." He grinned.

"I know that look." Haru grumbled. "Let me guess, you fooled some poor sod into thinking you are a somewhat decent human just to get some."

"You know me so well." He agreed.

"Tell us about it!" Momo gushed, he was always eager for gossip.

"Come on, you don't want all the sordid details." Rin smirked, knowing he had captured their interest.

…

"I think it was the third day of my holiday that I actually met him." Ai thought back.

He was slightly amazed how Nagisa and Makoto seemed to hang on his every word, Sousuke however couldn't be less interested.

"He jumped in the pool right by my sun lounger, he got me completely soaked and almost ruined the book I was reading. I was all ready to shout at him for it but he managed to charm his way out of it and by the end of talking to him I'd forgotten I was angry at all." Ai laughed.

"Was it love at first sight?" Nagisa beamed.

"Oh, not quite. I liked him but I don't think I was in love straight away." He shook his head.

"He adored me." Rin boasted. "After that first meeting I couldn't shake him, not that I wanted to get rid of the sexy little creature. And he was insatiable, took him to the beach the next day and he couldn't keep his hands to himself."

"Did you get very far?" Rei asked. "From what I understand sex on the beach results in sand in the most uncomfortable of places."

"Rei, you know I don't kiss and tell." He winked.

"He was very nervous on our first date." Ai continued his story. "Wouldn't even hold my hand for ages. But he took me to the pier, the market, a restaurant. It was one of the best dates of my whole life."

"How much dough did he spend?" Makoto teased. "I hope he was a true gentleman and paid for everything."

"He was, despite my insistence." He blushed.

"After that we were spending every day together." Rin told them. "Barely saw my family after that which was a relief. The guy had a private room so what more did we really need?"

"Did he put up a fight?" Haru questioned. "He must have to let you near him."

"Haru, don't be jealous I have raw sex appeal that he couldn't resist." He smirked.

"He wanted to do things properly." Ai commented. "He wanted to introduce me to his parents and meet mine before we did anything intimate."

"He sounds like a drag." Sousuke rolled his eyes.

"He wasn't, he was a gentleman." He defended.

"By the end of the holiday I had really fallen for him." Rin admitted. "And the guy had it pretty bad for me, might have even loved me."

"You don't gotta brag." Momo pouted. "I've never even had a date let alone been in love."

"Pay it no mind, I'm over it now. It was just a summer fling." He joked. "Am I really the sort to fall in love?"

"Nah." Momo shook his head. "Why waste your time with one guy when you can have multiple?"

"Exactly." Rin agreed. Haru rolled his eyes at the conversation, being able to read the blatant lie his friend was telling.

…

"So, this special guy, does he have a name?" Nagisa questioned.

"Rin, Rin Matsuoka." He grinned.

At the name, Makoto and Nagisa nervously cast a glance at Sousuke. He and Rin had had an on again, off again relationship for over a year now. They were currently off but no doubt would be on soon, now Sousuke realised someone like Ai was his competition. And they both knew Sousuke would win, Ai wasn't exactly Rin's type after all.

"Well, it certainly sounds like a perfect fairy-tale." Sousuke finally broke the silence.

"Really?" Ai gushed.

"Yeah, and who knows maybe Prince Charming will show up again one day. Somewhere unexpected." He smirked. "See you later."

"What have you got planned?" Makoto nervously asked as he followed after Sousuke to their next lesson.

"Nothing at all." He winked.

"Do you think Sousuke is right?" Ai asked when they were alone.

"Maybe." Nagisa smiled uneasily. "I think we better get to class."

…


	2. Chapter 2

…

Ai rolled his eyes as Nagisa dragged him through the corridor, his grip on his wrist tight after learning a few too many times once free Ai would slip away to the library for lunch.

In all honesty he wasn't sure why Nagisa was still so insistent they spend time together, he assumed the first day it was guilt after seeing Ai alone. But after he got such a frosty reception from Sousuke he expected to be quickly ditched.

But Nagisa was still everywhere he went, Makoto seemed to have accepted him with open arms and even Sousuke seemed to warm up to him slightly – and only slightly.

Nagisa waved enthusiastically at Sousuke and Makoto while he and Ai joined the line for food.

"You know, you don't have to force yourselves to spend time with me." Ai mumbled, toeing the floor.

"Why would you think we are?" Nagisa gasped, piling food onto his tray. The first time Ai had thought he was getting food for the pair of them but soon discovered that the petite blonde just ate a lot.

"Well, I'm not…" He trailed off. What was he supposed to say? I'm not used to having friends? That would make him sound even more pathetic.

"You're not what?" He probed.

"I'm not really your type of people." He settled for saying instead.

"Opposites attract." He shrugged with a smile.

"I guess." He bit his lip, grabbing a sandwich off the shelf in front of him.

"Three was a horrible number." Nagisa admitted. "There will always be a spare and now we have you. You completed our group Ai-chan, we are all very glad you came along."

"Thanks." Ai smiled softly, he supposed having friends wouldn't be so bad.

Nagisa returned the smile before leading them towards their usual table, it amazed Ai that no matter how busy the canteen got they could guarantee their table would be free. Maybe there was some sort of secret caste system going on that Ai had somehow been thrusted to the top of without even trying.

"Guess what's happening after school?" Nagisa sung as he sat down.

"Oh god." Makoto groaned, already knowing what he was talking about.

"What's happening?" Ai asked them.

"Pep rally." They said in unison, one excited and one fed up.

"Oh right." Ai nodded, an event he had never bothered going to in his previous schools.

"We're not going." Makoto said with a frown.

"We are so going!" Nagisa exclaimed with a mouthful. "It's Ai-chan's first pep rally here, we have to."

"You've been to one you've been to them all." Makoto smiled at Ai, hoping to get the boy on his side.

"I think we should go." Sousuke finally spoke up, both Makoto and Nagisa turning to gape at him.

"But you hate things like that." Makoto said, a little betrayed that Sousuke was against him.

"I know but I have a good feeling about tonight." He said cryptically.

"See? Even Sou-chan wants to go! We have to!" Nagisa practically shouted.

"Fine, fine." Makoto sighed. "We'll go."

"Yes!" Nagisa cheered. "Ai-chan's first pep rally! Are you excited?"

"Erm, I suppose so?" Ai cringed, it sounded fake even to his own ears.

"It will be fine." Makoto assured.

"Besides, you never know what friends you might meet." Sousuke smirked.

"Right." Ai reluctantly agreed. Once again unsure if Sousuke was actually warming up to him or just blatantly mocking him to his face.

…

Ai stared in amazement at the display in front of him, no wonder the entire student population would talk about the event for weeks. He'd never seen anything quite like it.

Sports team after sports team ran onto the field, the crowd cheering loudly for each one, never once losing interest of spirit. And the cheerleaders, well he'd never seen such elaborate routines.

Nagisa screamed and hollered with more enthusiasm than the entire bleachers while Makoto and Sousuke's eyes were glazed over. Why had he been so insistent they come if he wasn't interested?

He barely had a chance to dwell on it before the schools couch was lighting the bonfire and everyone swarmed like ants around the flame.

"Let's go dance!" Nagisa shouted, excitedly squirming in his chair.

"No." Makoto and Sousuke said in unison.

"You're both so boring." He pouted, turning his begging eyes of Ai. "You'll dance won't you?"

"I guess it can't hurt." He agreed, barely having time to finish his sentence before he was dragged into the chaos.

Makoto laughed slightly at his friends, Nagisa fully throwing himself into the fun while Ai nervously swayed by the edge.

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with R." Sousuke grinned.

"What?" Makoto frowned at the unexpected game.

Sousuke gently turned Makoto's head and pointed towards the car park at the edge of the field. The other boy seeing straight away what Sousuke was gesturing towards.

"Rin." Makoto sighed.

"Exactly." He nodded. "Maybe we should take our lovely little Ai over to see him."

"Why are you doing this?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm uniting two star crossed lovers." Sousuke smirked.

"No you're not, you and I both know Rin wouldn't have fallen for Ai. It was a line to seduce him, nothing more." He frowned. "All you're going to do is humiliate Ai."

"Ah well, sometimes the course of true love hurts." He shrugged.

"I don't think I want to be a part of this." He shook his head.

"Come on, I'm doing the kid a favour!" He exclaimed.

"How'd you figure that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Because he needs to get his head out the clouds and into the real world. Sure it will hurt at first but in the end he will probably be thankful." He said carelessly, in truth if Rin broke Ai's heart and humiliated him while he was at it he probably wouldn't care.

"Just because you're bitter about it don't cause unnecessary pain." Makoto glared, very rarely did he fight Sousuke's schemes but today he was not in the mood.

"I'm not bitter." He scoffed. "He's welcome to Rin."

"Somehow I don't believe you." He shrugged, sure Sousuke had been the one to call it a day on their relationship but as far as everyone else was concerned Rin was still his. And nobody wanted to take on Sousuke.

"Look, they're going to meet eventually. And we either do it quick like a plaster or let it happen later when we're not around to help." Sousuke said.

"I suppose you're right." Makoto reluctantly agreed, whenever it happened he knew it wouldn't be pretty.

…

"Why are we here?" Rin asked with a groan as his fellow classmates danced around the fire.

"Two reasons." Rei explained. "Haru wanted to show us something and Momo wanted to stare at the cheerleaders."

"What? I… Only a little!" Momo spluttered. "They're just so flexible! It must get freaky in the bedroom."

"Is that it?" Rin rolled his eyes, he could watch Momo drool any day.

"Look at that one!" Momo exclaimed, pointing at a random girl. "I bet she could do the splits as I fuck her." Rei rolled his eyes at Momo's crude comment.

"You wish." Rin laughed.

Rin squinted slightly as he watched his fellow students dance around the fire, usually he couldn't care less what they did for entertainment but there was someone among them that caught his attention. Light hair standing out in the crowd, so familiar and comforting. But he knew it was wishful thinking, Ai wouldn't be here at his run down school when his family had their pick of private schools. His parents would never let their precious son rub shoulders with these people.

But still the way the stranger held themselves, the way they awkwardly swayed their hips, the way they reined themselves back all screamed Ai.

Before the mystery person spun around Rin heard a chugging behind and turned to see a beat up car pulling up behind them.

"What is that?" He scoffed as Haru climbed out the car.

"A car." He rolled his eyes at his friend.

"That is a hunk of junk." He teased.

"Better than what you're driving." He shot back, knowing Rin didn't have the funds for even a second hand car let alone anything else.

Not that Haru really had that sort of money either, but his parents spent a lot of time away from home, giving their son monthly allowances to help him survive. Clearly this month he had decided to forgo food and instead purchase the car.

"I love it!" Momo gushed, running up to the car and stroking the beat up bonnet.

"Needs a little work but nothing too difficult." Rei said, the boys already knowing a variety of mechanical theory was flitting around in his head.

"What prompted this little splurge?" Rin asked.

"Ikuya." He replied with a sneer.

"Of course." Rin laughed.

Ikuya attended the rival high school, meaning anyone from Samezuka was almost programmed to hate them but the feud between Haru and Ikuya ran a little deeper.

A few weeks back he'd challenged Haru to a race, ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue they just needed to find a pool. But Ikuya laughed and said they weren't little boys anymore and men raced in cars. Of course Ikuya knew Haru didn't have a car and it just gave him more of a reason to mock the stoic boy.

Usually Haru didn't rise to the bait, but on this fateful occasion Makoto had been there and if there was one person Haru didn't want to be embarrassed in front of it was Makoto. It didn't help that after Ikuya had openly belittled Haru he offered Makoto a ride – and he was not referring to his car.

Like a fool Haru had agreed to the race to save face and since then Makoto had been gushing about how brave he was. He'd trapped himself and he couldn't back down, so the only option was to buy a beat up car and hope for the best.

"You'll never win in that thing." Rin laughed.

"It's fine, we just need to fix up the engine, buff the body a little and she'll run like a dream." Haru said, looking towards Rei for confirmation.

"Exactly." He nodded. "We can do it."

The boys shared a grin, even if it was a long shot they wanted to show Ikuya that Samezuka meant business and they wouldn't take abuse lying down.

…

Ai stood on his tiptoes, desperately searching for Nagisa in the crowd. He was beginning to get hot next to the fire and he desperately wanted to find his friend and leave.

"Oh, sorry." He apologised as he backed into someone.

"Don't worry about it." A deep voice said behind him.

Ai spun around and practically gasped when he saw a tall, red head behind him. He towered over Ai, practically twice his height but his smile was warm and his eyes were friendly. He was dressed in the school's sports jacket but he couldn't remember which team he'd ran onto the field with.

"Hi." Ai said stupidly, forgetting all other words around this gorgeous creature.

"Hi." The boy grinned back. "You alright?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You sure? You seem a little spacey." He frowned in concern.

"Oh… crowds I guess." He shrugged, a particularly enthusiastic dancer bumping into him from behind just to prove his point.

"I see." He smiled, holding his hand out. "Seijuro."

"Ai." He replied, tightly gripping his hand.

"Well Ai, allow me to escort you out of this crowd." Seijuro offered, Ai just nodded in response.

"Ai!" He heard a cry sail through the crowd and turned to look over his shoulder with a frown. Why was Sousuke looking for him of all people?

"Yes?" He frowned.

"Come with us." He gestured to Nagisa and Makoto. "We've got something to show you."

"Show me?" He questioned, leaning around to catch Nagisa's eye who was staring at his feet and biting his lip.

"Yeah, it's important." He said, giving Seijuro a look to let go.

"Oh, okay." He agreed, not expecting Makoto and Nagisa to flag him on either side.

He looking over his shoulder at Seijuro as he was helplessly taken away.

"I'll see you around Ai." He winked.

…

Rin was eyeing up a patch of rust on the side of Haru's car when he felt the black haired boys attention suddenly captured, his head shot up and his eyes sparkled. It could only mean one thing – Makoto was nearby.

And sure enough when he turned around there he was, along with Sousuke and Nagisa.

"Hey." Sousuke greeted.

"Hi." Rin calmly responded, wondering just what the other boy wanted.

"I've got a surprise for you." He smirked.

"A surprise for me?" He sighed, not really wanting to play these games again with Sousuke.

"Yeah." He laughed, taking a step to the side to reveal just what – or more accurately who – he'd been hiding.

Rin's eyes widened as he watched the small boy stumble forward, finally looking up and gasping slightly at what he saw. After weeks of dreaming and pining they were finally together again.

"Rin?"

"Ai?" He gaped. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved schools." He explained with a smile, taking a step closer.

"I can't believe you're really here." He gushed. "I wanted to…"

He trailed off when he suddenly remembered where he was, who he was. He felt his friends closing in around him, their judging eyes assessing Ai and if the snort he heard was anything to go by they weren't impressed.

"You wanted me so bad that you had to move cross country? I'm flattered." He teased.

"What?" Ai frowned.

"Go on, I'm feeling generous. I'll give you another go, for old times sake." He held his hand up and got a high five from Momo.

"What are you talking about?" He blushed.

"Come on baby, don't be a prude. We're among friends." He winked, reaching forward to squeeze Ai's arse.

"Stop it!" He squeaked in embarrassment. "What happened to the Rin I met at the beach?"

"I do not know, maybe there's two of us?" He joked. "Try filing a missing persons ad."

"I don't understand." He whispered.

"You know what they say? People act different when in heat." He laughed.

"I hate you." Ai hissed, tears building up in his eyes. "You're fake and a liar and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!"

"I bet that's not all he laid on you." Momo jeered as Ai ran away, Nagisa quickly following after him.

"Nicely done Rin." Sousuke laughed, walking away with Makoto.

Rin stood completely still, those words coming from Ai's lips had broken his heart. His friends voices blurred into white noise, probably still making jokes at Ai's expense, as his mind was consumed with the other boy.

He wanted to run, find Ai and hold him in his arms again, beg for forgiveness and never let go. He wanted to be sick, disgusted that he made the one person he cared about cry. He wanted to punch his friends, blame them for everything that had happened.

But he knew it was his fault, he was a coward who didn't deserve Ai's love in the first place.

…

Nagisa finally found Ai sat behind the bleachers, hugging his knees as he wept. He dropped beside the other boy and pulled him into a hug.

"He was so nice to me this summer." Ai sobbed into Nagisa's shoulder.

"I know." He nodded, but he also knew how guys lied to get what they wanted. "But he's a rat."

"Yeah." He agreed.

"No, he's worse than a rat! He's a flea on a rat!" He exclaimed.

"He is." Ai nodded.

"No! He's an amoeba on a flea on a rat!" He shouted, finally coaxing a smile out of Ai. "He's not worth your tears."

"I know." He rubbed his eyes. "I just feel so stupid."

"Don't be silly." He shook his head. "Even the best of us get played by arseholes, it's how we deal with it afterwards that defines us."

"Thanks." Ai smiled.

"Listen, my parents are out tonight so the guys are coming to mine. You want to come too?" Nagisa asked.

"I don't know." He bit his lip, he knew his parents expected him home soon and he no doubt had extra studies to work on.

"Come on, it will be fun." He sung with a cheeky smile.

"Okay." He agreed, one night off wouldn't hurt him.

…

 _I think I killed it :/ I should have just left it as a oneshot I think but now I've started I will commit and finish_


	3. Chapter 3

…

Ai sat nervously in the corner of Nagisa's room, deeply regretting agreeing to this sleepover. He knew he'd have multiple texts and missed calls from his parents but he was too embarrassed to call them back. He'd already made a fool of himself once today, boasting about how in love he and Rin were only to be laughed at when they reunited, he didn't need to do it twice.

How long had they all known, he wondered. Waiting for the right moment to surprise Rin. And he had been surprised, didn't expect his pathetic little summer secret to reappear.

"Drink?" Nagisa asked, waving a bottle of Jack Daniels in Ai's face.

"No, I'm fine." He shook his head.

"Course." Sousuke smirked. "Innocent little Ai never drinks."

"Yeah I do." He denied, even it were just a glass or two of wine in the company of his family.

"Then what's the problem?" Sousuke asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing." He attempted to shrug casually before grabbing the bottle.

"That's the spirit Ai-chan!" Nagisa cheered, Ai wincing slightly as the whisky hit the back of his throat.

"Anyone else?" He coughed, hoping to pass the bottle off quickly.

"Sure." Makoto smiled, taking more than a sip.

"Hey! Don't hog it!" Sousuke jeered, fighting the other boy for the bottle.

"Ai-chan! Do you know what you'd look great with?" Nagisa beamed.

"No, what?" He frowned, curling up to avoid getting caught up in the play fight.

"An earring!" He shouted.

"What?" Ai exclaimed.

"Sure he would." Sousuke snorted, finally having claimed the bottle.

"It would make you look edgy, show Rin you don't need him." Nagisa said excitedly. "I'll do it."

"Is it safe?" He frowned.

"Sure!" He grinned.

Ai watched helplessly as Nagisa ran around his room, grabbing supplies for a piercing he wasn't even sure he wanted.

"Here." Sousuke held out a joint. "It will help you relax."

"Oh… No thanks." He smiled.

"Let me guess, never smoked before either?" He grinned.

"No." He shook his head, blushing slightly.

Sousuke lit up and held it out to Ai. The boy knew he shouldn't take it, drugs weren't exactly what he wanted to get mixed up in but the condescending look he was getting prompted him to reach out and take it.

He choked right away, coughing out the smoke almost as soon as it entered his mouth.

"Oh, I should have told you not to inhale unless you're used to it." Sousuke fake apologised.

Nagisa took the joint from Ai's hands – and didn't take a drag himself much to the boy's relief – and handed it back to Sousuke.

"Ready?" He asked Ai.

"Not really." He shook his head, Nagisa rubbing his ear with an antiseptic wipe.

"It will only hurt for a minute." He dismissed, grabbing a needle.

"I just don't think it's a good idea." He babbled. "My father won't like it and… Ah!"

He screamed as soon as the needle touched his skin, Nagisa paling suddenly.

"Maybe we should do this in the bathroom, my parents will freak if I get blood everywhere." Nagisa said with a nervous wobble in his voice.

"Blood?" He blanched, reaching up to his ear to feel a needle half way through his lobe.

"Only a little." He reassured, grabbing his arm and pulling him out the room.

Sousuke waited until he heard the bathroom door slam shut before he walked over to Makoto, grabbing his phone right out his hands.

"Hey!" He complained, only to be ignored by Sousuke.

"How long are going to hang around with Mr Goody Goody?" He asked.

"He's not that bad." Makoto laughed. "I quite like him, and Nagisa adores him."

"Come on, he's nothing like us." He complained. "He doesn't drink, or swear, he'll probably get ill from one little smoke."

"It takes all sorts to make a world." He shrugged.

"I suppose." He rolled his eyes. "Do you ever wonder how Rin lost his heart to Doris Day out there?"

"A little bit." Makoto admitted. "We all know what men like Rin wanna do."

"Not with Ai surely." He gasped in fake shock. "He won't go to bed til he's legally wed."

"Maybe Rin liked the challenge." He shrugged.

"Or maybe it was the beauty spot." He laughed.

Sousuke reached over Makoto to grab a kohl pencil off the bedside and drew a crude spot under his eye.

"Try and keep your cool." He purred, pressing down onto the other boy. "You're starting to drool."

"You're an idiot." He rolled his eyes, attempting to push Sousuke off, only to be rolled over on top of him.

"Mako!" He cried, scandalised. "Let me be! Keep that body far from me!"

Before Makoto could utter a response a voice cleared his throat by the door, the pair turning to see a grinning Nagisa and a frowning Ai.

"Are you making fun of me Sousuke?" Ai asked.

"Some people are so touchy." He shook his head, smearing the spot across his face.

Ai sat down with a frown, a bag of frozen peas against his ear. A broken heart and a hole in his ear was not how he expected to end his evening.

"Hey, you alright?" Makoto asked, climbing off Sousuke.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"It gets easier to say no to Nagisa." He reassured.

"I doubt it." He pouted.

"Last month Nagisa tried to convince me it would be a good idea to get my belly button pierced and look." He smiled, lifting up his shirt. "Nothing there."

"Let's see the damage." Sousuke said, crawling over to him, Makoto finally getting back his phone that was being held hostage.

Reluctantly, Ai removed his ice pack and showed his swollen ear, a sparkling stud almost getting swallowed by the pink skin.

"Remind me never to let you near me." Sousuke winced.

"You'll be sorry." Nagisa said smugly. "I've been accepted in Iwatobi Beauty School."

"You're dropping out of Samezuka?" He asked.

"I don't see it as dropping out." He shrugged. "I see it as more of a transfer."

"Your parents are letting you leave?" He questioned dubiously.

"As long as I pass all my classes they'll be happy." He nodded.

"Who you texting?" Ai asked Makoto, the boy having barely glanced up from his phone since he'd got it back.

"Just some friends." He shrugged.

"Makoto is the biggest cock tease there is." Nagisa joked, lying on the bed beside the boy.

"No I'm not!" Makoto cried out, completely outraged.

"How many guys you speaking to?" Sousuke asked.

"About five or six." He reluctantly admitted.

"And how many are you sleeping with?" Nagisa asked.

"None of them!" He denied.

"My point exactly." Nagisa grinned.

"Oh stop it! There's nothing wrong with having a close friendship." He poked his tongue out.

"Tell that to Haru, poor boy has had blue balls since middle school." Sousuke teased.

"Haru is a very good friend, don't taint it with your need to sexualise everything." He frowned, he'd known Haru since they were babies, their relationship was deeper than sex.

"Sure, if you want to believe that." Nagisa laughed.

"Leave me alone." Makoto whined.

"I think I'm going to head home." Ai muttered, forcing himself to stand up.

"Are you sure?" Nagisa asked with a frown.

"Yeah, I kind of want to be alone." He shrugged.

"Okay." He reluctantly agreed as he watched Ai leave.

Once outside Ai sat down on the steps, listening to the sound of the boys' rowdy laughter seeping out the open window. He knew they all meant their best and were trying to distract him and cheer him up but all he could think about was Rin.

He wished he could just get over it, it was not the first time anyone had had their heart broken, it wasn't the first time someone had cried. He probably wasn't the first to know there was no getting over Rin.

He felt like such a fool, willing to sit around and wait for him. But now their love had pushed aside, forgotten and never to reborn. His head told him to forget Rin but his heart told him to never let go.

But despite everything that had happened he was still hopelessly devoted to Rin.

…

Rin cringed slightly as Haru pulled his car up in front of Nagisa's house, he wasn't sure how his friends managed to talk him into it. He was hoping that Ai wasn't here or would at least refuse to see him so they could leave.

As soon as Haru switched off the engine Momo was on his feet, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Ai!" He shouted. "Where for art thou Ai?"

"Shut up!" Rin scolded, forcing Momo back into his seat.

He panicked slightly as he watched the curtains twitch, only to reveal Nagisa and Makoto, if Ai was there he was in no mood to play.

"What do you want?" Nagisa asked after he opened the window.

"We're here for Rin's love." Momo yelled back.

"Well he doesn't want to see you!" He replied, shooting Rin a harsh glare, a look not suited for the blonde's usually cheerful face.

"Come on! All Rin is asking for is one more night." Momo laughed.

"Forget this." Rin complained, jumping out the car and walking away.

"Come on Rin!" Momo yelled after him. "I was only joking."

But Rin didn't stop, he couldn't stand around as his friends teased Ai. Joked about their relationship as if it were nothing more than a meaningless fling. They didn't understand what had really happened, what feelings were really there.

And why should they? When Rin had put on such an act why would they know it was anything more than physical?

Nagisa smiled in triumph as Rin walked away, he would never be getting near their Ai again. Not after how he treated him.

He jumped slightly when he felt Sousuke behind him, dressed and ready to go.

"You coming?" He asked the others as he stuck his leg out the window.

"No, I think I'll stay." Makoto shook his head, giving a pointed look to his shoulder. "And you should too."

"I'll be fine." He rolled his eyes, climbing the rest of the way and shimmying down the trellis.

"Hey Sousuke." Momo greeted nervously, getting out the car.

"Hi." He smiled.

Sousuke wasn't stupid, he knew Momo liked him but had never made a move because he was intimidated by Sousuke, and a little bit afraid of Rin. But he didn't have to worry about that anymore because Sousuke was coming for him, after a month long dry spell he was after some undivided attention.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa sung when the other two boys stepped out the car, practically hanging out his window.

"Yes?" He replied.

"You could come up if you wanted, keep me company." He smiled innocently, but everyone heard the implication of his words.

"What about your parents?" He asked nervously, last time he'd had a run in with Nagisa's dad and he really didn't want a repeat.

"They're out." He answered.

"See you guys later." He smirked to his friends, heading towards the door as Nagisa eagerly ran from the window.

When they had first got together Nagisa had been completely smitten with the other boy and given Rei the easy lay he wanted straight away. But the blonde had been persistent and never let Rei go even after their first encounter until soon the other boy was quite smitten too. Not that he would ever admit it.

Haru rolled his eyes slightly, both his friends having paired off and leaving him as a spare wheel.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted after he detached himself from Rei's lips.

"What?" He groaned, glancing at the boy.

"I think Makoto would like some company too." He smirked.

Haru pretended to consider this offer for a moment before heading over towards the door, even if it wasn't the same action Rei would be getting it was still better than nothing.

"Hey!" Momo shouted after him. "What about the car?"

"Keep it for the night." Haru shrugged, tossing him the keys. "Just clean it when you're done."

Momo was confused at the comment but Haru recognised the look Sousuke was giving him, granted it was usually directed at Rin but it was familiar all the same. Momo was in for an interesting evening.

"Do you want to go for a drive?" Momo asked.

"Sure." Sousuke smirked.

…

When Momo had suggested they go for a drive he didn't expect Sousuke to direct him to the nearest car park and pull him into the backseat as soon as he parked up.

But with Sousuke's lips against his neck and his hands down his trousers he found he really couldn't care less.

"Oh god." Momo moaned, arching up into the touch.

"Do you like that?" Sousuke grinned.

"Yes." He gasped.

"Has anyone touched you here before?" He asked.

"Course." He snorted, crying out as the hand around him squeezed.

"Really? I'm not sure I believe you." He smirked.

"No." He admitted. "You're the first."

Sousuke smiled at the confession before kissing Momo again, enjoying how responsive and eager the boy was.

They pulled apart with a start when the whole car shook, Momo's eyes wide.

"Is that supposed to happen?" He asked.

"Not yet." He laughed, sitting up to see what had caused the bump.

"Ikuya?" Momo asked as he followed suit. "Asahi?"

"I'm guessing Haru isn't with you both." Ikuya grinned.

"No, just me." He swallowed, not feeling as cocky without his friends.

"So this is this piece of scrap metal he was bragging about?" He asked.

"He'll beat you!" He defended. "Just you wait."

"I'll believe that when I see it." He joked.

"Just get out of here." Sousuke rolled his eyes.

"Rin's sloppy seconds?" Asahi mocked. "Is that the best you can do?"

Ikuya revved his car at the comment and slammed into the bumper, watching with satisfaction as it fell to the ground.

"Hey! You're gonna pay for that." Momo shouted.

Asahi reached into his pocket and grabbed a dime, throwing it in the general direction of the car.

"That should cover the damage." He shouted as Ikuya sped off.

"Haru is going to kill me." Momo complained, dropping back into his seat.

"It's not that bad." Sousuke shrugged. "Just one more thing to fix, there's already a lot."

"I guess." He groaned. "I better take the car to him."

"Yeah." He nodded, kissing Momo's neck again. "Or we can go after."

"After." He moaned. "After's good."

…

 _Still not sure if I'm happy with this continuation :/ I think every new chapter is overkill_


	4. Chapter 4

…

Momo cringed slightly as Haru walked around his car, assessing the damage that he'd done the other night with Sousuke, both inside and out. In the darkened car park it hadn't look so bad, but in the harsh lights of the school garage it looked terrible.

"How did you even do that?" Haru asked, stroking the area where the bumper had once been.

"Asahi backed into me." He admitted.

"Brilliant." He rolled his eyes. "He's not getting away with this."

"No!" Momo agreed whole heartedly. "We're gonna stick the bumper back on, paint her up and win!"

"You might have bigger problems than a broken bumper." Rei said, pulling his head out of the bonnet.

"What is it now?" Haru whined, walking over to join his friend, staring at the engine in disbelief.

"Well with this you won't be doing more than 50." He explained, wiping the grease off his hands. "Any faster and the timing belt is liable to snap."

"We'll never win at this rate. Makoto will think I'm pathetic." He mumbled the last part, a slight blush evident on his nose.

"It's fine." Momo reassured him. "We'll just slash Asahi's tires the night before, then he'll have to pull out and you'll win by forfeit."

"It's hardly the same." He pouted, Rin rolled his eyes from the front seat of the car, where he'd been lying and listening to the conversation around him.

"Okay, how about we cut his breaks? Then he can still race but he won't be able to make the turn and you'll win." Momo beamed.

"And Asahi could potentially die." Rei reminded him.

"Worse things have happened." Haru shrugged.

"Look, this car could be a major piece of machinery." Rin enthused, jumping up in his seat. "This car could be systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic. Why it could be greased lightnin'."

"Greased lightnin'?" Haru echoed, dubiously.

"We'll get some overhead lifters and four barrel quads." He said, climbing out the car.

"Keep talking." He frowned slightly.

"Fuel injection cut-offs and chrome plated rods." Rin grinned, looking towards Rei for reassurance.

"I'll get it ready." He nodded.

"With a four speed on the floor they'll be waiting at the door, you know without a doubt you'll be really making out in greased lightnin'." He winked.

"Oh yeah?" Haru asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." He smirked. "We'll get some purple French taillights and thirty inch fins, a palomino dashboard and duel muffler twins."

"You'll need new piston, plugs and shocks." Rei interjected.

"Then you'll get off your rocks." Rin threw his hand around Haru's neck. "You know that I ain't bragging, she's a real pulling wagon."

"Greased lighten'." Haru said, testing the name on his lips. Imaging him and Makoto in all sorts of positions in the back seat.

"Go greased lightnin', you're burning up the quarter mile." Rin practically sung.

"Go greased lightnin', you're coasting through the heat lap trial." Momo shouted, getting caught up in the excitement.

"It'll be supreme." Rei agreed.

"The guy'll scream for greased lightnin'." Haru nodded, imagining Makoto's sparkling green eyes when he turned up in his new, slick car.

"Now you're getting it." Rin said, squeezing him quickly before releasing his hold.

"Come on, let's get to work." Haru grinned.

…

After a long morning in the garage, the guys decided they'd deserved a little refreshments and food. They walked over to the local diner, only for Rin to freeze when he noticed a couple sat by the window.

It had been less than a day since Ai had seen the real him and he's already moved on, with a guy who most likely deserved his time and attention.

"You head in, I'm gonna have a smoke." Rin said, patting his pockets in disappointment when he didn't feel a box.

Rei nodded and followed Momo inside, only Haru hung back.

"What?" Rin asked when they were alone.

"Nothing, just wanted a smoke too." He shrugged.

"Right." He nodded awkwardly, reaching into his pocket and feigning surprise. "Must have left them in the garage, I'll head back."

"Stop playing dumb, I know something else is bothering you." He crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah, like what?" He challenged.

"A certain someone." He nodded in towards Ai, currently laughing at whatever line Seijuro was using on him.

"That summer fling?" He laughed. "I'm over it."

"Sure you are." Haru raised an eyebrow.

"Just drop it will you." He groaned, pushing him into the diner.

"I'm just saying if you want to talk about it you can." He protested as Rin led him towards their usual table.

"Yeah, and why don't we braid each other's hair and paint our nails while we're at it." He rolled his eyes.

"Liking someone is not a sign of weakness." He said but was ignored as Rin jumped into the booth and grabbed a menu. Haru decided not to push it any further and dropped into his own seat.

The words on the menu blurred into one as Rin discretely stared over the top, watching Ai and Seijuro's date.

He felt sick to his stomach with every one of Ai's smiles, his small blushes and embarrassed laughs, his light touches. All of the things that Rin had come to love in the time they spent together. But now they weren't aimed at him, they were all for someone else and he hated it.

And just to make his day that little bit better Sousuke sauntered across the diner, eating an ice cream with a smirk.

"Not jealous are we Rin?" He asked, nodding towards Ai's table.

"Don't make me laugh." Rin fake laughed in response.

"Always did hide your emotions well." He rolled his eyes.

"Hi." Momo stuttered as Sousuke walked past him, not entirely sure where they stood after their night together.

"Hey." He winked, ruffling Momo's hair as he headed towards the door. The red head quickly righted it while nervously shooting Rin a look. But it was clear he was not bothered by who Sousuke dated, he was still completely taken with someone else.

…

Ai felt Rin's eyes on him the moment he'd walked into the diner, but refused to meet his gaze. Instead he awkwardly downed his drink and delicately burped into his hand.

"Pardon me." He blushed, laughing slightly to cover his blunder.

"It's fine." Seijuro smiled and put him ease.

"So you were saying something about swimming before I interrupted." He joked.

"Yeah, we've got plenty of room on the team if you're ever interested." He said.

"I never said I swam competitively, more like a hobby." He shrugged, as much as he loved the sport his parents had never encouraged it. It was no help to him academically.

"Well it's something to think about." He suggested, finishing his own drink and holding up the glass. "Want another?"

"Yeah, but I'll get them." Ai grinned, slipping out the booth.

His hands shook slightly as he walked towards the counter, but he forced himself to hold his head high as he walked past Rin and his cronies. He felt all their eyes on him as he walked but he didn't falter, he faked confidence and passed them as if they weren't even a blip on his radar.

Rin bit his lip as he watched Ai lean forward against the counter top, his ass looking practically edible in those jeans. His hands clenched as he remembered the feel of it, soft and warm as he squeezed when they were alone. He knew last night he'd crossed the line, public displays were never Ai's thing but with the combination of his desperate need to touch him again and the pressure of his friends he wasn't thinking straight.

"I need a piss." He announced, sliding out his seat, barely getting more than a nod in response.

He casually walked away from the table, purposely walking in the opposite direction to Ai to avoid suspicion. Instead he walked in a loop around the tables before he headed towards the counter, feigning surprise when he saw Ai.

"Hi there." He grinned, leaning against the top beside him.

"Hello." Ai replied, not bothering to look at him.

"Look, I want to explain about last night." He said softly, leaning towards Ai slightly.

"Uh huh." He nodded, stepping away from an offended Rin.

"Yeah, it wasn't me you have to understand that. I mean it was me, I said those things but I didn't mean them. I just…" He started but stopped when Ai turned to glare at him.

"The way I see it there are two options. Option one, you're a complete jerk who faked for a whole month just to get some, which is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Or option two, you're so insecure that you can't even admit to your friends who you really are which is equally pathetic." He crossed his arms. "So which guy do you want to be?"

"Well you see… The thing is… I'm not either of those guys?" He stumbled through his words.

"Can you just spew whatever lie you want me to buy so we can get this over with?" He rolled his eyes.

"What? Desperate to get back to your date?" He scoffed.

"Better than being with you." Ai shrugged, choosing not to mention Seijuro had spent most of the time talking about his girlfriend, he was trying to prove to Rin he was over him after all. "Two cokes please."

"You can't really be interested in that guy." He shook his head in disbelief as the waitress started making Ai's order.

"And why not?" He frowned. "It's far easier and simpler than keeping up with you."

"Simple is right, all the guys brains are in his biceps." He laughed.

"Least he's doing something with his life." He defended. "Captain of the swim team is better than being a dead-beat."

"Please, I could swim circles around those guys." He preened.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Ai grabbed his two drinks and headed back to his table.

Rin stared helplessly after his retreating form, he'd prove himself to Ai, he was more than just a dead-beat.

…

Ai sat on Nagisa's floor, wincing as the blonde pulled his hair and forced it into strange styles. He knew he agreed to be his model for his new classes but he hadn't expected it to be quite so painful.

"So I heard a rumour about you today." Nagisa sung.

"From who?" Ai hissed as his hair tugged on the small clips.

"Rei-chan." He clarified.

"And what rumour was that?" He asked.

"That you were on a date with the captain of the swim team, good choice of rebound I must say." He grinned cheekily.

"It wasn't a date, he has a girlfriend." He sighed.

"Oh."

"He did ask me to be on his swim team though." He said hopefully, even if his love life was pathetic there was still something going on.

"Really? I didn't know you swim." Nagisa admitted.

"I don't, not properly. It was only for fun, never anything serious." He shrugged. "Do you think I should go for it?"

"Why not? Anything is worth a try at least once, how else would you know if you like it or not?" He asked, holding the mirror out for Ai to assess his hair.

"Oh, that's amazing." He lied, he wasn't sure the look really suited him.

"Thank you." Nagisa smiled, kneeling in front of Ai and grabbing his make-up. "Close your eyes."

Ai did as instructed and let Nagisa brush dark colours across his eyelids, getting a little concerned by the sheer amount that the other boy was piling on.

"Does Rin swim?" Ai asked after some silence, a throw away comment from their earlier conversation still going around his head.

"Yeah, they all do." Nagisa nodded. "Well not quite. My Rei-chan doesn't swim, says it's unnatural. Personally I would love to see him in tiny speedos while dripping wet, it would be absolutely beautiful but his mind is set."

"So are they on the team?" He probed, wondering if he'd have to deal with all their judging eyes if he did take Seijuro up on his offer.

"Oh no, nothing like that." He shook his head. "They compete against a group of boys from another school, some rivalry that has been going on for years now. They race once a year at a local competition."

"Why?" Ai frowned, opening his eyes as Nagisa moved onto his cheeks.

"Some turf war type thing. I don't even begin to pretend I understand it but it brings in a crowd, we all go to cheer them along in the relay." He explained with a smile.

"But if Rei doesn't swim then how do they make up a full team?" He asked just before Nagisa forced his lips together to apply lipstick.

"They usually coerce someone from the school's team to fill in for their breast-stroke." He shook his head slightly as if he didn't approve of their methods. "But at the end of the day they usually beat Asahi and his crew so they're happy."

"Right." Ai nodded, holding back a gasp as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit the colours Nagisa used were good but he may have just got a bit heavy handed.

"What do you think?" He asked, shaking with anticipation.

"It's good." He said. "So, enjoying Iwatobi then?"

"Mhm." Nagisa nodded, grinning a little too widely.

…

 _So I have decided that instead of a dance there will be a swim meet because it just kinda fit better with the whole storyline I think. Who knows? We will find out as I write more I suppose._


	5. Chapter 5

…

Rin walked into the school's aquatic centre, the familiar smell of chlorine assaulting his nose. He cringed slightly at how busy it was, really he'd been hoping he could have swam without all these first and second years gushing over him.

Not that he wanted to brag but he knew he was a pretty good swimmer, he wasn't on the school team through choice not because he wouldn't make it. But he'd never bothered to try, didn't want to seem too keen.

He did a quick scan of the crowd, still debating whether he would stay or go. So far he had captured much attention, but the one person he wanted had noticed him. Ai had stopped listening to Seijuro and had his gaze fixed on Rin. His blue eyes followed him around the pool, sparkling as he unzipped his jacket to reveal his chest.

Seijuro finally noticed he was talking to vacant lot and glanced over his shoulder to investigate. He offered Rin a small smile and a wave, the arrogant prick. Did he really think he was that much better than him that Rin posed no threat to his and Ai's current relationship? He'd prove him wrong, he'd have Ai back by the end of his first lap.

"Here to try out?" Seijuro's voice boomed across the pool, Ai flinching slightly at the volume.

"No, just here to practise," He shook his head.

"Well, you know where I am if you change your mind." He laughed.

Rin childishly rolled his eyes when Seijuro turned back to Ai, stealing the small boy's attention once again. He decided he let the older boy have his moment, let him win for now because once he got in the water he'd get Ai.

He sauntered to the edge of the pool, purposely making a show of stretching. He pulled his arms back, chest pressed forward like a peacock proudly displaying his feathers. He could see Ai watching him out the corner of his eye, still trying to resist blatantly staring.

Rin had to suppress a grin, Ai could try and fight their attraction but soon he'd be begging for him back.

…

Rin burst through the water with a gasp, his heart beating in double time. He knew he had overdone it but he was trying to prove a point. He was better than these dime a dozen swimmers, he had real talent and didn't need to join some little swim team to better himself.

And he knew he'd successfully shown he was better but Ai was still stubbornly refusing to look his way. As if he hadn't been remotely impressed by his performance. And it had all been for Ai, he couldn't care less what the rest of the gathering thought of him.

Despite his blatant fatigue, Rin ignored his screaming muscles and lapped the pool again. He knew he shouldn't, he should just admit defeat before his body gave up but he just couldn't. Ai's words where still buzzing around in his head, he was doing something with his life, he was more than just a deadbeat.

It was a reputation he always wanted to shake, it's what his Dad had been referred to all his life. By his Mum, by his Grandmother. He never wanted to get that stigma just because of his background.

When he'd finished his final lap he saw that Ai had finally turned to look at him, chewing his lip slightly. He was obviously impressed by Rin's last burst of power, showing off his stamina.

He decided now was time to exit the pool but as he tried to push himself out his arms crumpled under his weight.

"Shit." He muttered to himself, feeling like jelly.

He tried again only to have the same results, he knew he should have stopped at the last lap.

"Rin!" Ai gasped, rushing away from Seijuro and towards the boy ungracefully flopping out the pool.

"I'm fine." Rin tried to smile as Ai dropped to his knees besides him.

"You sure?" He frowned, nervously eyes raking over Rin's body for obvious injury.

"Just over worked myself is all." He reassured with a wink.

"Not sure why I care." Ai sighed. "After the way you treated me."

"I'm sorry about that." He apologised. "I tried to explain…"

"Yeah, it wasn't you. I heard." Ai snapped.

"Ai, please." He pleaded.

"Look, I just wanted to check you weren't dying. Now I'm satisfied you won't keel over I'm going back to Seijuro." He pointed, the captain watching them very closely.

"Join my team." Rin shouted as Ai stood up again.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"Me and the guys we have a team." He explained, scrambling to his feet and thanking his lucky stars his knees didn't buckle. "But we need a fourth, I know breast is your stroke. I saw you lap the pools every morning on holiday."

"What about the rest of your team?" Ai rose an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Will they want me to join?"

"Who cares what they think? I want you there." He said, taking a risk and grabbing Ai's hand. His heart soaring when the touch wasn't brushed off.

"You cared what they thought the other night." He challenged.

"Look, you took me by surprise that's all. That's why I said what I said, not because I meant it. I just wasn't thinking straight." He promised, and the way Ai chewed his lip he knew the other boy was caving.

"What about Seijuro? I can't just ditch him." Ai said, no real conviction in his denial.

"He's got plenty of other boys to work with." He smirked, throwing a small wave in Seijuro's direction who awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Fine." Ai laughed, pushing his hand down and letting Rin lead him out the pool with an arm around his shoulders.

…

Rin froze when he looked into the café, all his and Ai's friends congregating besides the jukebox. Nagisa forcing Rei to dance with him, Momo making a fool of himself while Sousuke watched in embarrassment, Haru stood to the side just waiting and finally Makoto tapping his foot and wishing he had someone to dance with, completely unaware he had a willing participant beside him.

"Hey, shall we go somewhere else?" Rin asked, pulling Ai back slightly by his hand.

"Why?" Ai asked.

"We can't be alone here." He shrugged.

"We've been alone all afternoon." He laughed, ignoring Rin's protests and dragging him inside anyway.

In what he hoped was a subtle action, he pulled Ai through the crowds, keeping his head down to avoid catching his friends eyes. He wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to be seen, he meant it when he said he wasn't embarrassed by Ai but he wasn't ready for his friends to tear their relationship apart just yet.

He knew if he told them to stop they would straight away but he'd still know what was in their minds, how they really felt about his relationship with the strange boy.

"You almost pulled my hand out the socket." Ai scolded with a laugh.

"I didn't want to miss this table." Rin shrugged, creating a make shift fort out of the menus.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He frowned, eyeing up the strange barrier that Rin was ducking behind.

"Yeah." He nodded, reaching out and holding Ai's hand. "Thought we might need a little privacy."

"Really?" Ai grinned, leaning towards the hunched boy. "And whys that?"

"Up to you." He whispered, moving even closer to Ai so that their lips almost touched. "What did you have in mind?"

Ai was never given the chance to respond because they menus were pulled apart by an exuberant red head who announced his arrival with a burp.

"Momo." Rin groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"You're a pig." Sousuke complained, hitting his boyfriend on the back of his head.

"He loves it really." He winked in Ai's direction.

"Keep believing that." Sousuke rolled his eyes, Rin watching in horror as he grabbed two spare chairs and pulled them up to their table.

"Ai!" Nagisa squealed, running towards his friend and grabbing him in a tight hug – as if he hadn't seen him mere hours ago at school.

"Hi." Ai giggled, returning the embrace. "Nice hat."

"Thank you." He smiled, it was a strangely large and floppy hat and on anyone else it would look ridiculous but it complimented his soft features. "Rin." He greeted coldly.

"Hello." Rin awkwardly replying, obviously he hasn't forgiven Rin's early indiscretions with Ai.

"It's fine." Ai reassured, lightly reaching up to touch Nagisa's wrist.

Suddenly the blondes face changed, his scowl quickly replaced by a smile. As if Ai's approval was all he really needed.

"Rei-chan, move that table over." He instructed.

"Oh, that's not necessary." Rin shook his head, his once intimate date was quickly becoming a group one.

"It's fine." Nagisa smiled, gesturing to Sumire the waitress that they had moved tables.

"Hi Makoto, how are you?" Ai asked as the final couple came to complete the group.

"Peachy keen, jelly bean." He smiled, sitting in the last spare chair and not even batting an eyelid when Haru dropped down into his lap. It was strange to Ai, he was sure Nagisa had told him they were just friends but their current position with Makoto's arms around Haru's waist they looked every bit a couple.

Rin nervously tapped his foot but it seemed nobody was even remotely bothered that he was here with Ai. His friends who had judged the boy so harshly before were happily chatting to him as if he'd always been a part of their lives. He knew it should make him happy but he still felt on edge, waiting for the atmosphere to change.

"Enjoy." Sumire said, putting enough food on the table to feed thousands rather than eight teenagers.

"Yum!" Nagisa exclaimed, helping himself to more than his share. "Makoto, you not having any?"

"I've got no money." Makoto shook his head, the only person who hadn't had anything. "I don't know where it always disappears to."

"Nagisa can pay." Rei smirked. "He's a working guy after all."

"Yeah, well they don't pay that much to start with." He stuttered.

"Once you build up a client base it will get better for you." Sousuke encouraged, grabbing the napkin dispenser off the table and using it as a make shift mirror.

"Do you want to be my first client? I've got some great foundation that will hide those hickeys for you." Nagisa winked.

"A new boyfriend would be better." He teased, poking at his neck.

"You weren't complaining last night." Momo blew him a kiss, getting only a rolling of eyes in response.

"I really should get going." Makoto complained, tapping Haru lightly on his hip.

"Why?" Haru asked, popping a chip in his mouth.

"Got a big test tomorrow, need to revise." He explained, glancing out the window and biting his lip at the sight of the dark street.

"Okay, I'll walk you home." Haru offered, easily reading his friends reluctance.

"Thanks." He whispered softly so that nobody else heard him. The pair said their goodbyes and slipped out the café, holding hands and further confusing Ai but nobody else seemed to bat an eyelid.

"I need to head out too." Rei commented, standing tall. "You coming Nagisa?"

The blonde shook his head, knowing exactly what Rei was suggesting and he just wasn't in the mood. Usually he'd jump at the chance to spend time alone with his boyfriend but with everything that was going on at the moment intimacy was the farthest thing from his mind.

"No, I think I'll hang out here for a while." He smiled.

"Suit yourself." Rei shrugged, leaning down to kiss him goodbye. Nagisa eagerly returned the kiss, slipping his hands around his neck until his fingers were gently resting in his hair.

"I love you." Nagisa whispered against his lips.

"I know." Rei smirked, untangling himself from the embrace and swiftly leaving. If anyone else noticed the blatant brush off they chose not to mention it.

"Well, more food for us then." Momo smiled, swiftly changing the subject.

Eagerly, he reached out for a burger and took a large, noisy bite out of it. Sousuke groaned as the contents spilled out the other side in a messy, mayonnaise heap. Luckily missing the red heads shirt completely.

"I literally cannot take you anywhere." Sousuke complained.

"Not my fault they put too much filling in them." He shrugged, eating the food off the table and causing Sousuke to twitch in annoyance.

"Come on Ai, let's head out." Rin said, sensing an argument about to start.

"Oh, okay." Ai nodded as Rin pulled him from his seat, barely having time to offer a wave to his friends as he was dragged out. Nagisa watched them leave with a frown, not wanting to be left alone with the couple who were clearly close to the edge.

"It's not just the eating. It's the burping, it's your loud voice, it's your total disregard for anyone in a fifty-mile radius of your obnoxious behaviour." Sousuke listed.

"Why are you always on my case recently?" Momo frowned. "It's like I can't even sneeze with you breathing down my neck."

"I can't help that you're irritating." He complained.

"If I'm so irritating why are we even bothering with this relationship?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I knew you'd be this high maintenance I wouldn't have dated you in the first place."

"Excuse me?" Sousuke hissed. "I did you a favour."

"How? Because I was the only guy in school you hadn't slept with yet?" He sneered.

Sousuke growled, he knew his next action was childish but at this point he was beyond caring. He had a reputation but he never expected his own boyfriend to use it against him. He grabbed a milkshake off the table and threw the contents in Momo's face, accidentally getting some on Nagisa.

"But you are the first idiot I've dumped covered in milkshake." He smirked, feeling far too satisfied as the drink dripped off Momo's chin. "Sorry Nagisa."

"It's fine." He mumbled, grabbing a napkin and cleaning himself as Sousuke stalked out of the café.

"Sousuke!" Momo shouted after his retreating form. "I need to talk to you now!" Nagisa watched as the wet boy ran after Sousuke, barely caring about the sticky trail he was leaving behind.

The blonde looked around the table with a heavy heart, he was left all on his own with the bill and no money. He dropped forward onto his arms and sobbed, Sumire quickly running over to him.

"No use crying over spilled milkshake." She tried to joke.

"It's not that." Nagisa sniffed, lifting his head up and pulling his now tacky hat off his head. Sumire had to resist the gasp that bubbled up her throat, Nagisa's once beautiful hair was covered in different shades of pinks and purples.

"If you don't mind me saying, your hair looks like an Easter egg." She told him.

"I had a little trouble I tinting class." He admitted. "In fact, I'm having a little trouble in my classes. Iwatobi sure isn't what I'd thought it would be."

"Nothing ever is." She sighed, grabbing the mop and cleaning up the mess.

"Sumire? I dropped out." He whispered.

"Oh." She replied, unsure how to respond.

"I just… I don't know what to do anymore. I couldn't do beauty and that's all I had." Nagisa cried, tears filling his eyes once again.

"That's not true." She shook her head.

"Well what else can I do?" He asked whipping his eyes with the back of his hands.

"You're asking the wrong girl." She bit her lip. "I dropped out of high school and now I'm stuck as a waitress, don't make the same mistake I did."

"I wish someone who could tell me what to do. Like a guardian angel!" He snapped his fingers.

"I'm afraid life doesn't work that way." Sumire laughed. "Don't you have a friend who could help you?"

"Not really, they have their own problems." He pouted. Sousuke would still be having it out with Momo, Makoto would probably be trying to politely decline Haru's offer of going back to his place and Ai was off doing god knows what with Rin. He was alone.

"What about that nice boyfriend of yours?" She prompted.

"Rei?" He snorted. "He wouldn't be of much use."

"You never know unless you try." She shrugged.

Nagisa bit his lip slightly, as much as he hated to admit it he knew his relationship with Rei was purely physical. Any sharing of problems or asking for advice could potentially ruin things. Or it could be just the push Rei needed to get more serious.

He pulled his phone out his pocket and furiously texted Rei, requesting his presence immediately at the park. He knew all the winking emojis he added would be enough to get Rei there, shame he's going to be disappointed.

"Listen Sumire, about all this food…" He trailed off, he'd have to offer to pay in instalments.

"It's on the house." She winked. "But only this once."

"Thanks." He grinned, rushing out the café and leaving his stained hat on the floor.

…

"Didn't strike me as the public space kind of guy." Rei joked as he walked up to Nagisa and sat beside him on a bench. Nagisa was glad it was dark out because Rei didn't seem to notice his bizarre dye job.

"That's not why I invited you here." He reluctantly admitted.

"Then why?" He frowned, a little annoyed that he'd got redressed only to be denied a little action.

"I wanted to talk." Nagisa said, trying to sound confident.

"Why didn't you text me then?" He asked.

"It's more of a face to face thing."

"Okay. What's on your mind?" He sighed, sounding as if he was only humouring Nagisa.

Nagisa bit his lip as he tried to find the words, did he even want to talk to Rei about this? It was obvious he didn't really care about his life so why should he care when it was in turmoil? But he would have to care, they were together and whether Rei liked it or not that meant sharing their burdens.

"I dropped out of Iwatobi." He said into the silent park. "I know it was stupid, my future is unclear now and there's nothing left of my career. And worst of all I can't even get a trade in on my smock!"

The joke fell flat as Rei just stared at him, unsure how to process this new information.

"You dropped out?" Rei echoed. "You're a beauty school dropout?"

"Yes." He frowned, this wasn't exactly the helpful advice he was expecting.

"But that means you won't graduate, you've already missed your midterms and flunked shampoo. What are you going to do?" He questioned.

"I don't know." Nagisa whined, dropping his head onto Rei's shoulder and letting the tears fall. "I screwed up and need some help."

"Don't worry baby, we'll get you moving." He reassured, pressing a kiss onto his forehead and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"How? It's hopeless." He sobbed.

"No it's not." He shook his head. "The beauty dream isn't alive anymore but it isn't hopeless. You could go for your diploma, turn in your comb and go back to high school."

"Rei-chan, I can't. I already made a big deal out of leaving, I can't go back with my tail between my legs." Nagisa shuddered at the very idea. "I'm just going to have to try harder with beauty."

"Right, it's time you knew the score. Beauty is not your skill, they couldn't teach you anything because you're already such a looker. But you're very heavy handed and no costumer would go to you unless she was a hooker." He bit his lip, hoping he hadn't tipped Nagisa over the edge with the truth.

"Rei-chan!" He shouted, scandalised but smiling all the same.

"Baby, don't sweat it you're just not cut out to hold a job. It would be better to forget it. Go back to high school." He encouraged, with the right drive Rei knew Nagisa could handle high school, he just lacked confidence.

"I'm not sure." He bit his lip. "What if I mess up again?"

"Baby, I'll make sure you don't blow it." He smiled, giving his boyfriend a squeeze. "Don't put my good advice to shame, you know all your friends would say the same. Go back to high school."

"Go back to high school?" Nagisa echoed.

"Yeah." He nodded. "You can do it."

"Thank you, Rei-chan.," He grinned, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss on his lips. "I really do love you."

"I know you do." Rei replied, kissing him again.

It may have been the same brush off as earlier but Nagisa still felt like they had taken a step in the right direction, Rei had been there for him when he'd needed him the most. He may not be the perfect boyfriend but he was getting there.

Rei pulled back from the kiss and hugged Nagisa close, resting his mouth beside the other boy's ear. He whispered so softly that Nagisa wouldn't have heard him if the park hadn't been so eerily still and quiet.

"I think I might love you too."

Nagisa grinned widely and squeezed his boyfriend tightly. He may not want to admit the truth loudly and in front of others but as long as he told Nagisa then that was all he needed.

"Right." Rei coughed awkwardly. "I should probably walk you home."

"Actually." Nagisa pulled away and bit his lip. "I think I'd much rather go to your place."

"Would you now?" He smirked, letting his hands drop to stroke his soft hips.

"Yeah, think you deserve a treat for helping me today." He licked his lips.

"Well I have been a particularly good boy recently." He teased, kissing those tantalising lips.

Rei may still feel more comfortable with the physical side of their relationship but Nagisa would let it slide for now, the emotional part would come in time. And after tonight and Rei's confession he would always know it wasn't just sex between them anymore, it was making love.

…


	6. Chapter 6

…

Today was the day of the race and to say Rin was nervous was an understatement. Usually he was quietly confident they would easily win but usually they didn't have Ai on their team. As much as he adored the other boy his speed left a lot to be desired. But this wasn't about winning, what was one loss if it meant Ai let him back in his heart.

With a soft smile he walked inside, hoping his team were already here and training.

"Ah there you are!" Sasabe shouted when he saw Rin walk in. "I was worried my star attraction wasn't going to turn up."

"What do you mean?" Rin frowned, often Sasabe would turn his nose up at their silly competition.

"Didn't you hear?" He asked with a grin. "It's a huge event this year!"

"Really?"

"Yep, got loads of races and games going on for a fundraiser. A local network got wind of it and offered to film it, even planning on sending some up and coming star." He bragged.

"We're going to be on TV?" Rin swallowed.

"Only locally but yeah. Gonna get me lots of business." He said, rubbing his hands together.

"Right." He nodded. "I'll let the guys know."

"Only Haru's here." He said, gesturing towards the changing rooms.

"Thanks." He nodded again, heading over to Haru.

They were going to broadcast on TV, potential scouts would watch them, judge them. And they were going to lose. But he couldn't kick Ai off the team, it would ruin any progress they'd made. The others would just have to work harder to compensate for Ai, it was hard but winning was doable.

…

Sousuke groaned as his friends practically dragged him towards the swimming centre, he had no interest attending the fundraiser today. Sure, he'd agreed a few weeks ago but that was when he'd been dating Momo, now he wasn't particularly bothered. They could lose for all be cared.

"You head in, I'll catch up." Sousuke said when he noticed someone smirking at him from across the parking lot.

"You sure?" Makoto frowned disapprovingly.

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "I won't be long."

"Come on." Nagisa enthused, grabbing Makoto's hand. "Rei is waiting for me."

Makoto allowed himself to be pulled away, a little worried about Sousuke. The break up bad affected him more than he'd been willing to admit and now he was currently looking for affection in the wrong place.

"Hey." Asahi winked as he saw Sousuke walking towards him. "Come to wish me luck?"

"You're going to need it." He grinned in response.

"Please." He rolled his eyes. "You seen that little runt they're racing with? We're going to smash it this year."

Sousuke wanted to defend Ai but he knew it was pointless, he wasn't fast and he didn't have much power in his strokes – a fact not even Rin could deny.

"Hallow victory then?" Sousuke teased.

"How about a little side bet then? To make it interesting." He rose his eyebrow.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"If we win you let me take that gorgeous ass of yours out on a date." Asahi grinned, reaching around Sousuke to squeeze his cheeks.

"And if you lose?" He challenged, leaning back into the touch all the same.

"Anything you want." He licked his lips.

"If you lose you don't play dirty when you race Haru." He said, he knew the whole car was an extravagant gesture to impress Makoto, the least Sousuke could do was throw the poor guy a bone.

"I'm offended you'd think we would." Asahi laughed.

Sousuke didn't respond, only raised his eyebrow and set a look on Asahi.

"Fine, fine." He relented. "We won't play dirty."

"Good."

"Seal the deal with a kiss?" He asked cheekily.

Sousuke leant in, his lips practically touching Asahi's, their breath mingling they were so close. But instead of kissing him, Sousuke simply whispered.

"You'll get a kiss when you win."

"You tease." Asahi moaned as Sousuke detached himself and swaggered towards the swim centre.

He faltered in his steps when he noticed who was stood in the doorway, watching the whole exchange with sad eyes. The high Sousuke had been feeling was quickly replaced by a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.

"Momo." Sousuke said softly.

Momo just shook his head and walked inside, refusing to meet Sousuke's eye again. Feeling guilty, he trudged in behind the boy.

But why did he care? They had broken up so he was free to do as he pleased now, he shouldn't feel shamed for some harmless flirting. But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself the feeling would not go and he suddenly found himself hoping Asahi's team didn't win.

…

Makoto cheered loudly as he watched his younger brother and sister take part in the paddleboard race, a restless Haru beside him. He just wanted to get in the water, it wasn't usually this busy. But he supposed it wasn't every day you had a film crew around.

"It's your race next." Makoto reassured.

"Yeah." Haru nodded.

"Aren't you excited, supposedly someone famous will be introducing the race." He grinned, shaking slightly with excitement. Although it didn't interest Haru, Makoto seemed obsessed with celebrity culture.

"I'm just here to swim." He deadpanned.

"Haru." He rolled his eyes playfully. "You have to be a little nervous though, knowing the you will be shown on TV."

"I guess." He shrugged, knowing once he got into the water that would be the only thought he would have on his mind.

"But you'll do fine I don't doubt." Makoto smiled at him.

"Maybe you should give me a good luck kiss." Haru suggested, he was completely serious but Makoto misinterpreted his tone.

"Haru." He giggled, hitting his arm. "Don't be so silly."

"It might help." He said but he had lost Makoto's attention.

He was staring over Haru's head, looking into the distance with a frown before he gasped loudly.

"Kisumi." He whispered.

"Okay." Haru nodded, eagerly leaning forward.

"No Haru." He shook his head, pushing the other boy back. "It's Kisumi."

"Who?" He frowned, following Makoto's outstretched finger to see a pink haired man laughing with the crew.

"Only one of the most famous models in the world. I can't believe he's here." He gushed, shaking Haru by the shoulders.

"Uh huh." Haru said, unimpressed by the boy who had entranced Makoto.

"I need to go talk to him." He smiled. "I'll be right back."

Haru helplessly watched as Makoto walked away, he could just about handle all those pathetic little school boys who leered after Makoto. But a genuine celebrity? He did not stand a chance against that.

Makoto shook slightly as he walked towards Kisumi, he was buzzing with a strange combination of nerves and excitement. He couldn't believe he was about to go and speak to Kisumi, could his life get any better?

"Hello, Kisumi?" He squeaked.

Kisumi turned around with a look of distaste, ready to send whatever fan was bothering him on their way with a quick autograph but when he saw the boy the look was dropped for a smile. He was gorgeous. His eyes sparkled and his smile was wide as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"Hi." Kisumi grinned. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh." Makoto blushed under the power of the smile. "I was just wondering if I could have a picture with you?"

"Of course." He readily agreed.

Makoto fumbled slightly with his camera, his clumsy fingers making hard work of turning on the front camera. When he finally had it sorted, Kisumi wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Makoto's heart was beating fast, he could hardly believe he was this near to Kisumi and he was touching him. Just as Makoto took the photo, Kisumi kissed his cheek. Makoto had died and gone to heaven.

"Thank you." He stuttered. "I'll leave you alone now."

"Wait just a minute." Kisumi smiled, lightly gripping his wrist. "Don't you think it's only fair I find out your name, considering you know mine."

"Oh, Makoto." He smiled.

"Makoto." Kisumi purred. "Please say you'll keep me company. I don't know anybody here."

"Sure." He nodded, dazzled by the other boy.

"Great." He grinned. "So, tell me about yourself Makoto."

Makoto practically melted every time Kismui said his name, he was completely mesmerised by the modal. And Haru was long forgotten, much to the other boy's disgust.

…

"Rin!" Sousuke shouted when he saw the red head coming out the changing room. "We need to talk."

"Why?" He asked, doing his pre-race stretches.

"You can't swim with Ai." He hissed, hoping the boy wasn't in ear shot.

"Excuse me?" He frowned, letting his arm drop limp beside him.

"Come on Rin." He rolled his eyes. "We both know you're here to win."

"And what do you suggest?" He snapped. "Where am I supposed to magically find a new swimmer?"

"I'll do it." He grinned, smugly.

"I'll pass." He rolled his eyes.

"Seriously Rin, think about it." Sousuke told him, taking a step closer.

"Dump my current boyfriend for an ex?" He pretended to think. "Not exactly the greatest of plans."

"This isn't about your pathetic love life." He growled. "This is about winning."

"Since when did you care?" Rin questioned, wondering why Sousuke was so insistent.

"I just don't want to watch you make a fool of yourself, you're better than that." He lied, he had a lot riding on this race and he couldn't stand to lose.

"But you don't even swim breast." He commented under his breath, shocked he was even considering the offer.

"No, but I'd still be better than Ai." He shrugged, knowing he had Rin exactly where he wanted him.

Rin hated to admit it but Sousuke was right. Ai, as wonderful as he was, had no real talent for swimming. But he was trying to win him back, prove Ai meant something to him. If he kicked him off the team he'd never speak to him again.

However, this was his big chance. He could prove himself, get out of this town and his terrible future, make something of himself. Was it worth hurting Ai over his future?

"Alright." Rin sighed. "Go get changed."

"Knew you'd see it my way." He smirked, heading towards the changing room. "Good luck breaking the news to Ai."

Rin groaned as he watched Sousuke walk away, he knew this would break Ai, and he'd only just earn his trust back.

"Rin!" Ai shouted, running down the corridor and throwing his arms around him.

"Hi Ai." He greeted, guiltily giving him a kiss.

"I'm so excited for today." He grinned. "It will be so much fun to race with you."

Rin chose not to respond, instead just placed another kiss on his lips. He only hoped Ai would take the news well.

"Did you hear that we will be filmed?" He asked, resting his chin on Ai's head to avoid making eye contact.

"Yeah." Ai giggled. "I hope they get my best angle."

"What if…" Rin swallowed nervously. "What if we don't win?"

"It's hardly the end of the world." He shrugged.

"But…" He stuttered. "Ai, you know I care about you but I need to think about what is best for my team."

"What?" Ai questioned, taking a step back and out of Rin's arms. "What are you trying to say?"

Rin still refused to meet Ai's eye, staring down at his shuffling feet. But he didn't need to answer Ai's question. Sousuke did it for him.

Ai gasped as he saw his friend step out of the changing room, already dressed in his swim trunks. Despite all his talk Rin really didn't care, he would still brush Ai aside as soon as he was given the chance. And to choose Sousuke over him really was the harshest blow. He knew the boy wasn't keen on him but to go behind his back like this really hurt.

"I'll meet you by the pool." Sousuke said, waltzing past the couple.

Rin gapped at Ai helplessly, not sure what he could possibly say. There was nothing that would make this acceptable.

"Well." Ai snapped, breaking the silence. "I hope you win but I certainly won't be there to cheer you on."

"Ai, please." Rin begged, lightly gripping his wrist. "Don't make me choose between you and the race."

"I think you've already made your choice." Ai hissed, snatching his arm back and storming back the way he came.

He waited until he was out of sight and ear shot before he let his tears fall. Why did he keep falling for Rin's stupid games, all his pathetic tricks? He didn't care about him, sure he was good at faking but that was about as deep as it ever ran for him.

…

Nagisa and Rei finally made their way to the stands, proudly displaying the school colours. Although it wasn't an official school event the support was as strong as any sports game.

"Glad to see you back in red." Rei smiled as they took a seat near the front.

"Me too." Nagisa agreed.

Since their talk in the park, Nagisa had begged his parents to send him back to Samezuka. At first, they had been very hesitant. Concerned it was just Nagisa being his usual indecisive self. But when he confessed how miserable it had made him, that beauty just wasn't the career for him and he missed his friends they had eventually transferred him back.

And now it was as if he had never left, the whole messy incident a strange dream.

"Good to get back to your roots." He teased, casting a glance at Nagisa's once pink hair.

"Well, blondes do have more fun." He laughed.

Rei playfully rolled his eyes but leant down to give his boyfriend a soft kiss all the same. Their relationship, another thing that had changed since their night together.

"Love you." Rei whispered.

"Love you too." Nagisa happily replied.

…

Despite his guilt, Rin still found himself standing behind the starting blocks as he stretched for the race. He didn't dare look up at stands because he knew he would feel nothing but disappointment at the empty space besides Nagisa.

Ai shouldn't have been in the stands either, he should be stood beside him. His infectious smile cheering him up as the tension rose.

"When can we start?" Haru practically whined, their race having to wait for the irritating model to introduce it.

Rin chuckled at his friend but the laugh was hollow, his heart was still aching for Ai. He shouldn't have let him go.

"Didn't realise I'd be racing against you." Asahi smirked, letting his eyes rake up and down Sousuke's body.

"I'm full of surprises." He shrugged, taking note of how Momo's shoulders tensed at the sound of his voice.

"And our deal still stands?" He asked, licking his lips.

"Of course, I'm a man of my word." Sousuke replied, trying to ignore the scoff his ex-boyfriend made at the comment.

"Thank you for your patience." Sasabe smiled, getting everyone's attention. "But we're finally at the race we've all been waiting for and can I welcome Kisumi."

The crowed cheered at the name, excitedly looking around for wherever he would come from. He didn't appear straight way, everyone taking this as a way to build excitement and suspense but when Sasabe said his name the second time there was still nothing. Kisumi was nowhere to be seen and seemed to be making no attempts to come to the stage.

Haru looked around in annoyance, just desperate to get his race started but when he located the model his blood boiled. Kisumi was stood in a secluded corner, pressing a smiling Makoto to the wall. They were closer than Haru would have liked and they appeared to be talking in intimate whispers. But as he watched Kisumi reach his hand up to stroke Makoto's face Haru was ready to go over there and break them apart.

"Kisumi." Sasabe hissed, clearly losing his patience.

The harsh cry of his name snapped Kisumi out of his reverie and quickly jogged towards the platform, leaving behind a slightly bewildered Makoto.

He jumped up besides Sasabe and took the microphone out his hands, instantly apologising with a charming smile.

"Sorry, I was a little pre-occupied." He winked, brushing a carefree hand through his hair. "Such gorgeous people you've got here."

The young crowd squealed again, thinking he was spreading this compliment to each one of them. Haru curled his fist when he thought who that was really aimed at.

"But I'm here now and I'm excited to see how you men fight it out down here." He grinned. "If you'll take your positions gentleman."

Instantly Momo jumped in the water, sending a bitter glance towards Sousuke and Asahi. Least he wouldn't have to listen to their flirting any longer.

"On your marks. Get set." Kisumi said, pausing for dramatic tension. "Go!"

Sousuke gasped as he watched Momo arch through the water, his arms and stance strong. He was angry and that was powering him, fuelling him forward. He sped through the water, effortlessly carving a path as he reached the wall and spun, the other team just on his tail.

Momo burst through the water, helplessly staring as Sousuke sailed over him, his form perfect. Momo didn't want to watch but he couldn't look away, why did he have to be so breathtakingly gorgeous? It was making getting over him nearly impossible. He was practically pulled out by Rin when he made no attempts to leave the water.

Sousuke executed his turn perfectly, very aware of Ikuya in the lane besides him. But, despite breast not being his speciality, he still managed to meet the other boy stroke for stroke. The pair of them hitting the wall at practically the same time.

Asahi jumped in fast, but Rin was slightly quicker off the mark. But even with his edge he couldn't keep his lead. His mind was filled with Ai, wishing he was there, cheering for him as water dripped down his chest from where he'd just raced.

The team watched helplessly as Rin fell behind, it was only by a few seconds but it was enough to know Haru had to save them.

And save them he did. He powered through the water, leaving the other swimmer in his bubbles. Haru didn't want to just win, he wanted to humiliate them. He wanted to prove himself to Makoto. He wanted to show that smug bastard Kisumi just what he could do. He panted hard as he burst through the water, his school screaming with pride as they took the victory.

Once out of the water he was pulled into a hug, Sousuke carefully standing back when Momo grabbed him and Rin.

"We did it!" Momo practically squealed while the stands emptied as the crowd descended on them.

It was the same celebration as usual, everybody jumping into the pool with a cheer. Not caring that their clothes would smell like chlorine for the rest of the day.

Rin took a step back as he watched everyone, Haru pulling Makoto into a wet hug while shooting Kisumi a possessive look, Rei offering all his friends a slap on the back and even Momo and Sousuke managed a civil handshake.

The only two not celebrating were himself and Nagisa. The blonde desperately searching for Ai in crowd. He cast Rin a confused look when he couldn't find him.

Rin ran a guilty hand through his hair, he had no way to explain himself. Instead he turned on his heel, knowing Nagisa would be burning holes into his back as he walked away.

He should be happy, he knew that. But what good was a victory when you had nobody special to share it with?

…

 _This is my offering instead of having a school dance_


	7. Chapter 7

…

Ai crossed his hands over his chest as he walked towards Rei's house, the boy was having a party and Nagisa had extended an invite to him. He hadn't wanted to come, he knew there would be too many people there to laugh at him but after begging and pleading Nagisa had managed to get him to cave.

Now, he was really regretting the decision. As he arrived Rin appeared, just a coincidence he'd been sure but it still meant they would be arriving together. All that anger would be ignored just so Rin could turn up with someone on his arm.

"Ai, please can we talk?" Rin asked, throwing a careless arm around Ai's shoulders. He was tempted to push Rin off but he knew the arm would only creep around his waist instead.

"What is there to talk about?" He frowned, wishing Nagisa was around to save him. If he saw Rin even touching Ai he would engage his fierce protectiveness.

"About Sousuke." He said, coming to a stop and forcing Ai to do the same.

"Again, nothing to talk about. You chose him." He replied.

"Not like that. It was a choice for my team, not a reflection of how I feel about you." He promised, but only got an eye roll in response.

"It's not just that, why didn't you just tell me before going behind my back?" Ai asked.

"I didn't go behind your back, I just needed help and…" He started.

"And asked Sousuke before talking to me." He crossed his arms. "How do you think that made me feel Rin?"

"I…" He faltered, had he really been so focused on the race that he hadn't even considered Ai's feelings.

"You embarrassed me and tossed me aside, do you even care?" Ai asked, voice raising towards the end of his sentence.

"Of course, I do!" Rin defended. "I'm sorry Ai."

"So, you always say, but yet we always end up here don't we?" He replied scornfully.

Without waiting for a response Ai walked inside, ignoring the indignant shout of his name coming from Rin.

"Ai!" Nagisa screamed as the boy entered the house, cheeks rosy from far too much drink.

"Hi Nagisa." He smiled as he was pulled into a hug.

"Where you been? I've been waiting forever for you." He hiccupped, voice loud in Ai's ear.

"I'm only half an hour late." He shook his head, originally his plan was to be late so he could slip in unnoticed, clearly Rin had had the same idea.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa shouted, quickly getting his boyfriends attention over the music. "Ai is here!"

"Ai, good to see you." Rei smiled and before Ai knew it he was pulled into another embrace. He didn't realise he and Rei were such good friends, they barely spoke at school but obviously all it took was a couple of shots of vodka and Rei thought they were best friends.

After that Ai somehow found himself sandwiched between Rei and Nagisa, awkwardly dancing to the music. He felt a little uncomfortable between the couple but least it made a forcefield between him and Rin, quite literally.

…

Sousuke downed his drink with a grimace, he knew he should be riding on a high, he had been on the winning swim team after all. But he had more pressing matters to worry about, his own problems that could not be solved with alcohol.

"What's wrong with you recently?" Makoto frowned, sitting beside his friend.

"Nothing." He shrugged, annoyed that for once Haru's drunk ass wasn't following Makoto around.

"Come on." He nudged him. "I can tell somethings off with you."

"It could be nothing." He brushed him off.

"But it could be something." He replied.

"I've just been feeling a little run down recently, went to get myself checked at the doctors and they said…" He coughed awkwardly, he hadn't actually said it out loud before. "There's a possibility I have hepatitis."

"Hepatitis?" Makoto echoed. "But how?"

"Come on Makoto, even someone as innocent as you knows how these things spread." He attempted to laugh.

"Momo?" He asked.

"Nah." He shook his head. "Kid was purer than snow when I met him."

"But that means he has…" Makoto started but quickly stopped when he saw Sousuke shoot him a withering stare.

"Look, I might not even have it so let's not go blabbing to Momo, or anyone for that matter." He said.

"When do you find out?" He asked, reaching over to give Sousuke's shoulder a squeeze.

"A couple of weeks, only found the courage to do the tests earlier today." He laughed bitterly.

"It could be nothing." Makoto tried to reassure.

"But it could be something." Sousuke replied, dragging the last remains of his drink out. "I need some air."

Makoto watched him go with a frown, part of him wanted to follow him, to assure him it wouldn't be all bad. But he knew Sousuke needed space, needed to clear his head before he would talk about it again.

"Drink?" Haru asked, holding out a cup and sidling up beside him.

"Yeah, thanks." He half smiled, quickly downing the drink in one swallow.

"You alright?" He rose an eyebrow, Makoto was not often a huge drinker in large groups, he tended to just socialise and nurse his drink.

"Just worried about Sousuke." He admitted, gently nibbling his lip.

"Why?" Haru asked, eyes never leaving his lips. Unfortunately, the drink made Haru a little less subtle.

Makoto debated what to say, he wanted to tell Haru what was going on. It felt like a too big a secret to keep, especially if it potentially affected one of Haru's friends. But was it really his news to tell, it wasn't happening to him after all.

"Sousuke thinks he might have an STI." He said vaguely, choosing not to go into details.

"Oh." Haru frowned, gently wrapping his arm around Makoto's waist. He knew it was in bad taste to make a move when Makoto was upset, but after his third or fourth drink he'd made the decision that he would be leaving with Makoto.

"I just… I'm scared for him I guess. This could change his life." He sighed, leaning into Haru's touch.

"Makoto?" He asked, the words ' _shall we get out of here'_ were on the tip of his tongue. But they were interrupted.

"Makoto!" A voice shouted, an attractive boy from the football team who had had his eye on Makoto for a while. "Come dance, you look like you need cheering up."

"Yeah." Makoto laughed softly. "I suppose I do."

Makoto let the boy take his hand, harshly pulling him away from Haru. Makoto attempted to stop him, even beckoned Haru to follow but it didn't matter. Haru was in no mood to play third wheel.

"Give it up." Momo said, drunkenly swinging an arm around Haru's neck.

"I don't know what you mean." He grumbled.

"All talk and no action, that one." He laughed. "Don't waste your time with that."

"Better than being infected." He snapped, drunk and annoyed.

"Huh?" Momo frowned.

"Ask Sousuke." He replied, slipping out of Momo's now limp hold. Haru headed towards the kitchen, desperate for some shots after seeing Makoto practically grinding with a near stranger.

…

Momo finally found Sousuke outside, sat on the grass and staring at the stars.

"Hey." Momo said, awkwardly sitting beside him.

"Hi." He replied.

They sat in silence for a while after that, Sousuke wondered why he bothered coming out in the first place. Maybe he'd just seen Sousuke sat alone and the part of Momo that still cared had told him to go see him.

"Is it true?" He asked, immediately breaking any illusion Sousuke might have that he still cared.

"Is what true?" He asked, despite knowing exactly what Momo was talking about.

"That you… you're…" Momo stuttered, was there a tactful way to ask the question. "Do you have an STI?"

"Wow, good news sure travels quickly." He muttered sarcastically.

"So, it is true." He sighed.

They fell into another silence after that, it was a lot more uneasy this time. There was a lot they both needed to say but how? How could they address the elephant in the room?

"I don't care, you know?" Momo finally said, nibbling his lip as if he had really debated what would have been the right thing to say – and that is what he came up with.

"Why should you?" Sousuke asked, why should he be bothered what happened to his ex anyway?

"Not like that." He shook his head. "We broke up over an argument, we're both hot headed and said things we didn't mean. I guess I always expected after we cooled off we'd get back together."

Sousuke just blinked at Momo, he was used to people wanting him for sex but moving on easily when they split. He never expected someone to pine for him after a break up, especially someone as bubbly and charismatic as Momo. Sousuke berated himself for it but he felt special.

"I mean, if wouldn't bother me. I still like you and it's not like we could get infected again." Momo groaned, burying his head in his hands. "That sounded more romantic in my head."

Sousuke couldn't fight the smile that spread across his face. Sweet Momo, kind and caring Momo. So selfless he'd still date someone who had potentially given him a life altering disease. Momo was everything Sousuke could ever want but more than he deserved.

"Don't worry about it kid, you're clean. I got it off a guy after you." Sousuke said, the lie feeling bitter on his tongue.

"Oh." Momo mumbled, curling in himself in embarrassment. Of course, Sousuke didn't want to get back together with him, what had he been thinking saying all that. Why had he stupidly believed Sousuke was having trouble moving on like himself?

"You know I'm not one to hang around." Sousuke shrugged, pushing himself up and walking away.

He knew he shouldn't have lied, and if his results came back positive then it would come back to haunt him. But Momo deserved closure and a clean break, he deserved the chance with someone new, he deserved better than Sousuke.

...

Haru was drunk, there was no point in denying it, he was swaying slightly and his speech was beginning to slur. But he was drunk and on a mission, and that mission was Makoto. One of his many followers was currently fawning all over him and showering him with suggestive touches, much to Haru's disgust.

Haru had put over sixteen years into this relationship, granted his subtle technique hadn't really given him much luck but he wasn't about to let this drooling dog take Makoto's virginity. As much as Makoto liked to tease and flirt back he would never take it any further, he'd confided in Haru that he was saving sex for someone special.

But Haru was someone special, so really why were they beating around the bush?

He stumbled over with a confidence and bravado that was enhanced by drink. He wedged himself between Makoto and the nameless, horny bastard, making sure to look up at Makoto with what he hoped were alluring eyes.

"Haru? Are you okay?" Makoto frowned, easily seeing his friend had had too much to drink.

"Fine." He nodded before roughly grabbing Makoto around the back of the neck and pulling him down.

Wide, confused green eyes were the last thing Haru saw before they kissed. It was a little awkward at first, kissing lifeless lips. For a second, he panicked, maybe he read the whole situation wrong and they really were just friends. Just as he was pulling back he felt it, it was small and it was hesitant but Makoto definitely kissed him back.

"That's all I wanted." Haru said calmly, despite his erratic heartbeat.

Haru spun on his heel and slowly made his way outside, in his mind he looked suave and casual as he walked away but in reality, he tripped and almost fell into the garden. Almost immediately he heard Makoto had followed him, he knew he would. It was his plan after all, he didn't want to have this talk in front of anyone else.

"Haru!" Makoto shouted, grabbing Haru's arm.

"Makoto." Haru sighed softly, reaching up onto his toes to kiss Makoto again – he knew they really should be talking but after one kiss he was addicted.

Makoto moaned slightly as he felt Haru's lips against his own again, he really should resist, he could practically taste the alcohol on his breath but instead he melted into the kiss.

He knew his friends often teased him about his relationship with Haru, always said it was more than just friendship. And he's be lying if he said he'd never considered it, he felt safe with Haru and cared for, he felt appreciated for more than just his looks, what more could he want from a boyfriend? But that's all it ever was, a small fantasy.

Sure, Haru flirted with him, but just the same as those other boys it was harmless fun not to be taken seriously. He never expected they'd end up in this situation.

Makoto groaned as he felt himself be pushed against a wall, an insistent leg pushed up against his crotch. He was overwhelmed, his heart was beating fast, his palms were sweating. Never before had a kiss affected him so much.

"Haru." He panted, hating how his hips betrayed him and gyrated on Haru's thigh.

"Yeah?" He replied, delivering wet kisses to his neck.

Makoto wanted to lose himself in the moment, he wanted to just give into pleasure for once in is life but he knew, deep down, he wanted to be more than just a drunk one-night stand.

"Stop." He said, harshly pushing Haru away. The drunk stumble and desperate attempt to steady himself was just another reminder that Makoto needed to say no.

"What's wrong?" Haru frowned.

"You can't just kiss me like that! Especially when you're this drunk!" He shouted, annoyed that beyond slightly dishevelled hair Haru looked like they were having a normal conversation.

"So, I can kiss you like that when I'm sober?" He asked.

"Haru." Makoto blushed, as if he hadn't been grinding on his leg mere minutes ago. "You won't want to."

"Why wouldn't I?" He frowned.

"Because you're just drunk, trust me you will regret this in the morning." He sighed, he did find Haru attractive but he wasn't about to ruin their friendship for a case of drunk lust.

"Yes I would, I keep trying to show that I want to be more than just friends and this is the first time I've managed to get you to take notice." Haru said, pouting slightly that he wasn't being taken seriously just because he had used a bit of Dutch courage.

"You want to be more than friends?" Makoto blinked.

"Yes." He groaned, apparently pining him to the wall wasn't enough of a clue.

Makoto just stared, thinking over Haru's words. He supposed when he stopped to think about it Haru's feelings were pretty obvious. He always protects him from smarmy guys. He holds his hand when it's dark and Makoto feels scared. They go out alone together on outings that could be considered dates. Hell, just last week he'd asked Makoto for a good luck kiss. How had Makoto been so dense?

Deciding they had wasted enough time dancing around their feelings, Makoto pulled Haru back into his arms. The kiss wasn't as desperate as before but it wasn't any less intense. The kiss held more meaning, all those words that had been left unsaid for too long now.

"Come home with me." Haru whispered against his lips. "My parents are away."

"I meant what I said." Makoto laughed. "Not while you're drunk."

"I'll be sober in the morning." He smirked.

"Haru." He whined but made no attempts to stop him.

Makoto knew he should let his friends know he was leaving, they were only a couple of hours into the party and they would be worried if he disappeared. But that twinkle in Haru's eye was impossible to ignore and an empty house was too hard to resist.

…

Rin stood outside the bathroom, nervously twirling his father's wedding ring around on his finger – a bad habit he couldn't break. He knew it was weird to wait outside the toilet but Ai had barely left Nagisa's side all evening and they needed to talk.

Ai practically jumped when he saw Rin waiting for him, his look of surprise quickly being replaced with disgust.

"No." He said, trying to push past Rin.

"Please Ai." He begged, not waiting for response as he pulled Ai into a spare bedroom.

"You have five minutes." Ai crossed his arms as Rin shut the door behind them.

"The whole Sousuke situation was nothing to do with you and me." He said, holding his hands up when Ai opened his mouth to protest. "I know it was selfish but all I was thinking about was the race, it wasn't because it was Sousuke it was because I wanted to win the race. If I'd known how much it would hurt you I would never have done it, I'm sorry."

"Okay." Ai sighed. "I forgive you, can I go now?"

"No, there's more I want to say." He smiled softly, slipping the ring off his finger. "I want you to have this just so you know how serious I am about you, about us. And I promise I won't pick any one over you again."

"I don't know what to say." Ai said, staring at the ring with wide eyes.

"Say yes." He laughed.

"Yes." Ai smiled, letting Rin slip the ring onto his finger. "Thank you Rin, this means a lot to me."

"Well you mean a lot to me." Rin smiled, enjoying Ai's blush.

Ai rose onto his tiptoes and softly kissed Rin, he knew he made a promise not to fall for Rin's lines again but the ring changed things, it made them more serious.

So serious that Ai didn't protest when Rin picked him up off the ground and carried him towards the bed. Part of Ai wanted to pull away and tell Rin how much he loved him but his mouth was otherwise occupied.

Rin moaned softly as his hands began to wander, gently caressing and stroking Ai's stomach and pushing his shirt up slightly just to expose his skin. Ai felt his skin raising in excitement as the touch sent sparks through his body.

Ai sighed softly as he let Rin deepen the kiss, their tongues dancing as Rin started to grind his hips against Ai's own.

"Rin, stop." Ai said, pulling back slightly to nervously eye the door.

"Don't worry." Rin smirked. "Nobody will walk in."

"That's not the point." He moaned as Rin's wandering hands found his nipples.

"Come on." He coerced, sucking a mark onto Ai's neck.

"Get off me!" He shouted, pushing Rin off and jumping off the bed.

"Don't be like this Ai." Rin said, sitting up on his knees.

"No, you don't be like this." He snapped. "You think because you gave me this ring you have the right to stick your dick in me."

"That's not what I think." He denied. "I didn't mean to push you. I really do care about you Ai, even if my last action didn't exactly show it."

"You don't care." He shook his head. "All you care about is getting laid, and I keep falling for it."

"I'm sorry." Rin said, panicking that Ai was really going to cast him aside over a little pushy bedroom behaviour.

"No, not again." He hissed.

Ai sent him one last dirty look before heading out the bedroom with Rin hot on his tail.

"Ai, wait." Rin yelled, a few party goers watching – they'd probably heard the start of the argument and came for front row seats.

"I'm don't with you. Forever this time." He said, pulling the ring off his finger and throwing it back at Rin. "And you can keep this piece of tin."

Rin watched him go helplessly, stranded at the top of the stairs as he watched Ai's figure retreating. He was aware of voices whispering around him, calling him a fool. No doubt the whispers wouldn't stop even when they were back at school.

But he forced himself to move, he grabbed the ring off the floor and headed down the stairs. He didn't want to stay anymore, even if Ai was still there he was in too much misery, there was nothing left for him there. They'd finally made a start, finally sorted themselves out and now they were apart again.

Why did he have to ruin it? Why did he keep ruining it over and over? But he did, and he kept doing it until his love had flown and left him all alone.

Maybe they just weren't meant to be now, maybe someday when high school was done they could be together. Maybe then their two worlds could be one and Ai would stay. But he didn't want to have to wait that long, he was helpless without him.

"Oh Ai." He sighed, spinning his ring one last time before heading home.

…

This is my offering instead of the drive in. Also, I debated what to do with Sousuke for ages, I did think about incorporating his shoulder somehow but I couldn't think of a way it would affect Momo enough to step up, like Kenickie did with the pregnancy. So yeah, I took the sexually transmitted disease route.


	8. Chapter 8

_I feel like this story is becoming less and less like the original the more I write it. Sorry about that if you're here for Grease!_

…

Makoto blushed slightly as he and Haru made their way to school, sure turning up with Haru wasn't that scandalous, neither was holding his hand. But the fact that he was still in the same clothes as yesterday was sure to raise a few eyebrows.

Granted, Haru had offered him a change of clothes, but they'd barely fit him so he opted for his own. Even if it did give away all their secrets.

Haru didn't seem to share his embarrassment, he looked as if he wanted to make it clear to every person that yes, he and Makoto were now a couple, yes, they had spent the night together and yes, that hickey on his neck was courtesy of Haru.

Unfortunately for Makoto, there was someone else who also seemed unabashed in pointing out this new development.

"Someone is wearing the same clothes as last night." Nagisa hollered from down the corridor. "Mako-chan you saucy minx!"

"Nagisa." Makoto hissed as they got closer. "Keep your voice down."

"What is the point in being subtle now?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "Practically the whole party saw you two making out against the patio doors."

"The patio doors?" He croaked, he could have sworn it had been a wall but he was so wrapped up in the moment. That means they would have also seen him grinding against Haru's leg like a dog in heat.

"Don't be shy." Nagisa teased as Makoto buried his face in his hands. "We were all hoping for act two."

"Act two already happened when we got back to mine, and again this morning." Haru said, enjoying winding Makoto up a little.

"Haru." He whined, a small smile on his lips as he remembered their passion.

"Right, that's enough." Nagisa snapped, pulling Makoto's hands away. "We need to find Sou-chan and Ai-chan for a gossip. Haru, you can make yourself scarce."

Haru shrugged before giving Makoto a quick kiss, he needed to head into the garage anyway to see if his car was all ready for racing.

"So cute!" Nagisa squealed as he watched the new couple kiss. "Now, come on."

Haru watched them go with a slight shake of his head, part of him still couldn't believe that he was with Makoto. That he was his boyfriend now, that he could kiss him whenever he wanted, that he could hods him and never let go.

He berated himself for watching the pair for quite so long as he did and he really hoped people didn't notice the sappy grin he couldn't seem to wipe off his face.

…

When Haru arrived at the garage he was extremely impressed by what he saw, gone was the rust bucket with parts falling off that he had brought in weeks ago. And in it's place was a sleek white car complete with fresh upholstery and lightning bolt decals. Rei had really gone above and beyond to get this finished in time.

"So, what do you think?" Rei asked, wipping his greasy hands on his overalls.

"It's beautiful." Haru replied.

"And with this machine there is no chance you'll lose tomorrow." Momo gushed.

"You've done well Rei." Rin smirked, slinging a casual arm around is friend's neck.

"Thanks, it wasn't too bad once I got rid of the broken stuff and stripped it back to basics." Rei explained.

"Where did you get all those spare parts from anyway?" Momo asked.

"I just know a guy." He shrugged.

"I'm calling it, you're in the mafia or something." He declared, undeterred by the filthy look Rei shot him. "You know too many shady people and Nagisa is your mob wife or something."

"Really?" He deadpanned.

"You always just know someone who knows someone." Momo said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm on to you."

"His Dad's a mason." Rin replied, walking over to the car to run an appreciative hand along it.

"Nothing exciting." Rei shrugged, walking towards the back room to change.

"And what are the masons if not a legal mafia?" Momo asked, following after him – much to Rei's annoyance.

Haru watching them go with a frown, their argument still being heard despite them going into the next room.

He walked over to Rin, hardly believing that he would finally be able to drive his car and put Asahi in his place. Granted the race had also been a way to impress Makoto but that part was no longer necessary. Originally, he had been slightly wary, despite the others hyping him up he'd always worried he wouldn't win the race but looking at his new car he finally felt confident.

"She cleaned up well." Rin commented with a smile.

"Yeah, hard to believe she's the same car." He agreed.

"Ready to win the race and a victory kiss from Makoto?" He teased, Haru rolled his eyes and chose not to mention that was redundant after last night.

"Rin, will you be my second?" Haru asked, suddenly finding the car door handle interesting as he stared at it.

"You're what?" He frowned.

"My second." He repeated with a blush. "Like if something happens tomorrow and I can't preform would you be there to take my place?"

"I hope you mean the race and not with Makoto." He teased.

"I'm serious." Haru glared.

"Of course, I will be." He grinned, ruffling his hair. "I'd be honoured."

Haru laughed slightly before knocking Rin's hand away but it just resulting in an arm around his neck and a hug instead.

"Don't let us interrupt." Momo said with a smirk as he walked back in the room with Rei.

The pair pulled apart with a cough, Haru awkwardly straightening his jacket as if it would undo his friends walking in on their embrace.

"Come on." He said. "Let's see what this baby can do."

"Now we're talking!" Momo cheered.

…

"Tell us everything!" Nagisa shouted, he had successfully found Ai and Sousuke and was desperate to find out every detail. After watching the pair of them pine after each other for months he felt like he was a part of the Makoto and Haru love story and he was ready for a happy ending.

"There's not all that much to tell." He lied, his blush giving him away. Sure, these were his best friends but Makoto always kept quiet about his sexual escapades – or lack of.

"Please, you don't go from rutting against the door at Rei's to just holding hands at Haru's." Nagisa scoffed.

"I…" Makoto looked helplessly towards his other friends but neither were offering him much guidance.

"He has a point." Ai shrugged, and if his encounter with Rin was anything to go by hands would have been wandering everywhere.

"But… it's embarrassing." He moaned.

"There's nothing embarrassing about sex!" Nagisa shouted, catching the eyes of a few students around them.

"Come on, just tell us." Sousuke whispered to save his friend. "Did you lose your v-card?"

"Yes." He mumbled.

"Ahh!" Nagisa squealed. "I knew it!"

"How was it?" Ai asked quietly.

"It was good, I guess?" Makoto offered.

"You guess?" Sousuke frowned.

"I don't know, good doesn't seem like enough to describe it. It was more than good." He blushed.

"Earth-shattering? Pleasurable? Incredible? Orgasmic?" Nagisa listed with a smirk.

"Let's just go with indescribable." He said. "I mean, I was quite nervous at first and I didn't really know what I was doing. But Haru was so kind and so patient with me, he was talking to me so sweetly. Like I was the most important and precious thing in the world, he made me feel so loved. It was… you know…"

"Indescribable." Ai finished for him.

"Exactly." He grinned.

Ai smiled back, slightly jealous. That was what he wanted his first time to be like, with someone he truly cared about and cared for him back. But instead all he seemed to get was a horny Rin who wanted to do it whenever Ai so much as smiled at him.

"Was he a considerate lover?" Nagisa asked. "Was he slow and caring or fast and aggressive like in the pool?"

"Nagisa!" Makoto cringed. "I can't tell you that!"

"Why not?" He pouted. "I tell you all about how Rei makes love."

"Yeah, but nobody asks you to." Sousuke shook his head.

"I have to go to class." Makoto said, walking away from the group.

"Hey! Wait, I have more questions." Nagisa shouted, chasing after him.

"So, you going to the race today?" Ai nibbled his lip, trying to ease the awkward silence that had fallen on them the moment the other pair had left.

"I guess so." He shrugged. "Show some support."

"Okay." He nodded, it was always so hard to talk to Sousuke.

They were hardly friends and if the other two weren't around it was pretty clear Sousuke actively avoided him. Ai couldn't use the same excuse as Makoto as they both had a free period, sure they didn't spend it together but they both knew each other's schedule.

Just as he was about to claim he needed to study in the library a group of girls walked past, all of them stopped to stare at Sousuke with a smirk. The kind of smirk that told you that you were just the topic of their conversation.

"That's the one I was telling you about." The leader said with a laugh before her and her cronies slipped off.

Ai nibbled his lip again, a bad habit he couldn't break. Sure, he'd heard the rumours all morning, and however it had gotten out the whole school seemed to have latched onto the information. Granted Ai hadn't had confirmation from the source, and he was probably the last person he'd want to talk about it with but he wanted to give him some support.

"Sousuke, I…" He started only to be cut off.

"You don't think I know what people are saying about me?" He snapped.

"I know… I just… I'm sorry." He said, knowing the last thing Sousuke would want was his pity.

"Why? You didn't give it to me." He laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, but you don't deserve this to have happened to you." Ai smiled.

"Why not? I was careless, this sort of thing wouldn't happen to you." He gestured to him. "Look I can take care of myself, alright? You don't need to worry about me."

"I know I don't need to." He shook his head. "But I want to. You may not have always liked me, we may not see eye to eye but we're a part of each other's lives. And whether you want me to or not I will care about you. We might not be friends in your eyes but we're something close in mine."

"Why bother?" He frowned. "Why waste your time with me?"

"Because you're a good guy, despite what you think."

"Thanks Ai." He smiled.

Ai nodded back before gathering his bags, despite their new-found friendship he could tell Sousuke needed to be alone. He didn't want to let people in, didn't want to talk about his problems, this was a battle he was ready to fight alone.

"He really likes you, you know?" Sousuke said, stopping Ai in his tracks. "Rin? He cares about you."

"Oh yeah, what give it away? His total lack of respect for me? The fact he treats me like dirt? The way he ignores me if we're not alone?" He scoffed.

"No, the fact that he actually feels bad when he fucks up." Sousuke smiled.

"He's looking for an easy lay, that's all." Ai shook his head.

"Trust me, if he was just looking for sex he would have got bored long ago." He said. He may have been jealous at the start but anyone could see how good they were for each other. Rin just needed to get his act together before he lost Ai for real. "You should go to the race, he'd like to see you."

"We'll see." He shrugged, walking towards the library and leaving Sousuke alone.

Sousuke watched him go with a sigh, even if he didn't want to talk he enjoyed the company. He hated walking through school alone now, usually one to laugh and mock others he was not used to being the one on show. He hated their words.

 _He's so trashy. He's no good. He deserved everything he got._

Sousuke supposed that was true, but there were worse things he could do. He could flirt with all these guys, make sure to smile and press against them only to refuse to see it through? That was something he could never do.

He could be the opposite, he could stay home every night and just wait around for Mr Right. Throw his whole life away on a dream that may not even come true. Why waste his time? He may not have done right in others eyes but least he'd lived his life.

Sousuke froze when he saw Momo up ahead, the guilty boy refusing to meet his eye. He supposed that told him just how all these rumours had spread so quickly. He'd been hurt last night, thought Sousuke was nothing more than a dirty liar without feelings. Of course he would have told anyone who was willing to listen.

But there was more to him, more than Momo would ever know. Sousuke did feel, he did love and he did cry. But he'd never let the boy know, he'd never cry in front of him. As he walked past Momo with his head held high he realised that was the worst thing he could do.

…

Haru leant against his car, feigning interest in the conversation around him but in truth all he felt were nerves. He had confidence in his car, in all the work Rei had done he just hoped he didn't let everyone down.

"If it were in any better condition it would fly." Rei said from inside the car. But even as he went through the last of his checks Haru couldn't bring himself to respond to any of his comments.

"You'll do fine." Makoto reassured as Asahi and his friends pulled up.

"Thanks." He nodded.

"Who's that?" Nagisa frowned looking into Asahi's car, his usual dark-haired companion in someone else's car.

"Kisumi!" Makoto gasped, recognising that face straight away.

Instinctively, Haru took a step closer to Makoto. He'd been all over his boyfriend last time they'd met, obviously after getting turned down he'd found himself a new target.

"I'm surprised you even bothered to show up." Asahi smirked. "That thing even road worthy?"

"You won't be so cocky when Haru beats your ass." Momo snarled, defending Rei's hard work.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "We're going to race to the bridge and back, think your car can make it that long?"

"It'll be fine." He replied, trying not to rise to the bait.

"Sure, if I was feeling generous I'd go easy on you." He teased.

Haru frowned and took a step forward, only to have Makoto gently hold his arm. A silent reminder that Asahi was not worth it.

"That's right Haru, listen to the missus." He winked, walking back to his car.

By the time Asahi had got back to his car Kisumi had gotten out, wrapping his arms around the other boy in a blatant display of ownership. With a smile, Kisumi reached down the front of his shirt to produce a locket that he lovingly placed over Asahi's head before grabbing his face in a fierce kiss.

"What did he give him?" Momo frowned.

"A lock of hair from his chest." Nagisa suggested, watching the lewd show in disgust. "Haru-chan needs a good luck charm."

"Well, I have something." Makoto blushed, reaching into his pocket.

"Is it a kiss?" He smirked.

"No, but I guess you can have that too." He shook his head fondly before pulling out a small clown fish on a key chain. "I know it's not the dolphin but it has brought me lots of luck over the years and I hope it does the same for you."

"Thank you." He smiled softly, taking the clown fish.

"I'd rather the lock of hair." Sousuke rolled his eyes at the ratty key chain but Haru ignored him as he knew the sentimental value was worth more than gold.

"Can I have that kiss now?" Haru whispered.

"I guess so." Makoto replied, leaning down to give his boyfriend a kiss – purposefully ignoring the jeers and cheers from Nagisa.

As Haru pulled Makoto closer, he momentarily forgot about the small charm he had in his hand. Forgoing holding it so he could run his fingers through Makoto's hair.

"Haru." Makoto chided, looking down at the key chain.

"I'll get it." He rolled his eyes playfully, leaning down to get it at the same moment Rei decided to open the car door.

It happened too quickly for anyone to stop it, Makoto attempted to shout his name but it was too late. The door flew open and hit Haru square on the head, sending him rolling onto his back.

Asahi and his friends cackled as they watched everyone flit around the dazed Haru.

"Good going Rei!" Rin complained, smacking him on the back of his head.

"I didn't see him." He defended. "Sorry Haru."

"Come on Haru, up you get." Makoto said, pulling him slightly into a seated position and supporting him in his arms.

"Follow my finger." Rei instructed, slowly moving his finger back and forth in front of Haru's eyes.

"Did I win?" Haru asked, not even attempting to follow the finger.

"You haven't even raced yet, idiot." Rin rolled his eyes.

"Stop, he might have concussion." Makoto panicked.

"Do I get my victory kiss now?" Haru leant forward for a kiss, only to miss and end up in Makoto's chest.

"He can't race like this." Rei shook his head.

"He'll be fine." Sousuke insisted. "Just get him stood up."

Between the three of them, Makoto, Rin and Rei managed to get Haru stood up but he was unsteady on his feet and quickly fell back into Makoto's arms.

"He can't drive." Makoto bit his lip.

"I'm fine, I'm just seeing two of you." He giggled, holding a hand out to Rin – or at least what he thought was Rin.

"Hey, you want me to drive for you?" Rin asked, stepping closer in an attempt to be in Haru's field of vision.

"Yeah." He said softly.

"We doing this or what?" Asahi shouted with a smug grin.

"Yeah, we're doing this." Rin nodded, climbing into the car.

Rin clenched and unclenched his hands around the wheel, feeling more pressure than he had felt before any swimming race. He glanced towards his friends sitting on the side lines, waiting, he knew he couldn't let them down.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone walking down the verge, sitting down far enough away to be unnoticed but close enough to see the race. Rin smiled to himself when he recognised that silver hair glistening in the sunlight.

With Ai watching and supporting him he knew he could do it.

…

Ai watched as the two cars pulled up beside each, Kisumi walking in front of them to obviously begin the race. He was a little surprised to see Rin behind the wheel, but when he saw Haru slouched against Makoto he realised something must have happened.

Kisumi held his hands up in the air, looking to both drivers to check they were ready. He gave Asahi a cheeky wink before throwing his arms behind him and both cars sped off.

Ai smiled as Rin managed to pull out in front straight away, but Asahi was close behind him. Bumping his car from behind in an attempt to knock him off course.

"Cheat." Ai mumbled to himself as Asahi pulled up beside him and knocked the car again.

They both reached the bridge at the same time, Asahi taking the turn a little wider than Rin so he was able to gain back his lead, if only slightly.

Rin moved his car to avoid getting hit by Asahi again but the other boy seemed intent on following him until they were both driving their cars along the tilted walls of the underpass.

Ai's heart was in his throat as he watched the pair narrowly miss a tunnel before driving back down onto the road.

In a reckless move, Rin drove the car up a small ramp. The sudden drop caused damage to the front bumper but gave him the edge he needed to cross the finish line first. Rin spun his car around to shoot Asahi a smug look before he was dragged out the car by his friends. He was hoisted up onto their shoulders as Kisumi rushed to Asahi's side.

Ai smiled as he watched them, chanting and cheering as they danced around. Part of him wanted to go over there and join in the celebrations but he knew he didn't belong. Not really.

As kind as they tried to be to his face he knew they all thought he was different, he didn't fit in. He was too scared and unsure of himself, lacked the confidence of the rest of them. But there had to be something more than what they see.

Ai smiled as he saw Nagisa, finally having noticed the other boy he was running up the verge to him. He stood as he saw the blonde waving wildly at him.

"Did you see?" Nagisa shouted. "Wasn't Rin great?"

"Yeah, he was." He nodded.

"You alright?" He frowned when he noticed Ai didn't share his enthusiasm.

"I think so." He bit his lip. "Can I come over to your place?"

"Sure." Nagisa grinned, linking his arm through Ai's. "Come on."

Ai looked over to Rin as they walked, maybe Sousuke was right, maybe Rin did truly care for him, maybe he was trying his best but it still wasn't enough. Maybe it was time Ai met him in the middle.

Ai knew what he had to do, he was ready to start anew. He would hold his head high and show the world he and Rin were worthy of each other.

…


End file.
